A Fine Life
by Mondie
Summary: **NOW FINISHED** Victoria, an aristocratic 16-year old, falls for Mush. Then Spot falls for HER. Now living on the streets, how can she deal with it? (Please R&R, my first story!)
1. Open The Gates

Chapter 1  
  
I always lived a normal life. I had friends as a little girl, and big birthday parties with all the classmates from my school. My family was even on the high financial level, and I, as an only child, usually got everything that I wanted. But that all changed the summer of 1899, when I turned sixteen.  
  
"Victoria?" my grandfather, Charles Christopher Thatcher III, called lightly one morning. He's lived with my family since I was three. "Would you run out and get me a copy of The World, please?" He gave me some money. I counted it quickly.  
  
"Grandfather, you gave me too much." I looked up at him, and found him smiling.  
  
"Well, what would a young girl such as yourself like to get with the extra?" he asked, and I smiled back.  
  
"I think, today, an apple," I answered. Every morning, he has me get the paper for him, and every now and then he gives me extra money for myself. Today was no exception. He smiled and nodded to me.  
  
I tightened the shoelaces of my smart, new black boots, and headed out the front door, the money clenched tightly in my hand.  
  
Summer in New York is really something to see. I smiled as a warm wind rushed by me, feeling the sense of enlightenment. I walked quickly down the street around some corners and more streets, and searched for one of the newsies. The newsies are a bunch of orphaned or runaway or just plain poor boys who sell newspapers for a living. I heard shouting ahead, and rushed forward. Two boys holding newspapers were standing on the corner, holding large stacks of papers and shouting for the people passing to buy just one of their "papes." I walked up to the one nearest me.  
  
"What pape do you want?" he asked, turning to me. If a newsie wasn't selling the pape that you wanted, he could usually direct you to a friend of his who was. For a moment, we eyed each other. He had clear, beautiful eyes. He didn't look familiar to me.  
  
"The World, please," I answered.  
  
His face twisted into a smile. "Ah, sorry, Miss! We ain't sellin' The World anymore."  
  
"You're not?" I asked, confused. His friend turned towards us, and he wore a grin just like the first.  
  
"Nope. They's prices, they's too high," he answered.  
  
I thought for a moment. "Well, can you tell me where I can find some newsies who are selling The World? My grandfather is waiting, and—"  
  
"None of us newsies is selling The World, Miss," the second one said. He was still smiling. I didn't smile back. "Hey, you sure look purty in that purple dress o' yours, Angelface." He held out a hand and touched the shoulder of my dress.  
  
"Cut it out, Snap," the first one said, and knocked his hand away. He was looking at me in a way no guy has ever looked at me before. I turned away.  
  
"Aw, look, Mush, she just don't like us an' our's kind," Snap said, tauntingly.  
  
At that moment, however, a loud shuffle broke the conversation. The three of us turned and saw two boys about to have a fist fight. They were shouting. The ladies in the street turned away, hiding into their beaus' jackets.  
  
"C'mon, Mush!" Snap yelled, dropping his papers and taking off for the fight scene. He began to pull the two apart. Mush looked at me a moment longer, then turned, and, dropping his papers too, ran to assist him.  
  
I stayed where I was standing. A couple of street urchins ran over, and began to pick up the papers. "No!" I cried out, and scattered them. I picked up Mush's papers and stood guard over Snap's.  
  
A minute later, a policeman showed up, and everyone dispersed. I didn't get to see where Mush and Snap had run off to, but just then a shadow fell over me. I looked up, into the most angry glare I've ever received.  
  
"What d'you think you're doin'?" the boy growled, and gestured to the papers. "Thought you'd steal these while the boys were off, guarding what's ours?"  
  
"No," I whispered, my heart pounding. "I was holding them for Mush…"  
  
"Please!" He snorted. "You expect me to believe that? Say—" He peered closer to my face. "How'd you know his name? You spyin' on us, waitin' to just steal everything away?"  
  
"No!" I said, backing away from him. He crept closer. I fell to the ground, and the papers scattered everywhere, and so did my fistful of change. The boy bent to the ground and began collecting the money.  
  
"Hey! What's going on?" a voice asked.  
  
"Help me!" I said, beginning to cry. "I wanted to return these papers, but now I've lost all my money…" I looked up and saw Mush outlined there.  
  
"Snitch, give her back her money," he said to the boy.  
  
"You know her?" he answered, sounding confused.  
  
"Give it back." Mush sounded serious.  
  
The boy threw the money at me, and stood back, scowling. Snap was back, too, and picking up his papers. Mush helped me collect the money, and then I helped him with his papers. "Thanks," he told me, smiling as he helped me from the ground.  
  
"Thank you," I whispered back, and pressed all the coins into his hand. He looked deep into my eyes, and I stared back. Then, I turned and ran quickly for home. But I could still feel his eyes on my back. When I got to my house, I turned and looked to the street corner. He stood there, and tipped his hat, then turned and walked back, to his post, I assumed. I smiled to myself. I'd never had anyone escort me to my door—even it was just with his eyes. 


	2. Don't Be Afraid

Chapter 2  
  
"Where's my paper, child?" Grandfather asked, as soon as I came in the door. My hand found its way up to my mouth, and I gaped at him.  
  
"The—the newsies said they aren't selling it anymore, Grandfather…"  
  
"Aren't selling it? Why in heavens not?" he asked.  
  
"I don't know," I answered truthfully. I seemed to recall them telling me some reason, but I had been too busy watching Mush to actually listen to the words….  
  
"Well, then, let's have the change. Say, where's your apple? You weren't so hungry it's already gone, were you?"  
  
I looked at him for a moment, then told how the boy had pushed me over. I didn't say why he did, however, and I didn't tell that Mush had given me back the money, but I had given it to him. My grandfather would never understand that. He may be kind and caring toward me, but he isn't anything like it for the newsies.  
  
"He pushed you down?" he said, puffing on his pipe. "Perhaps I won't send you for the paper anymore."  
  
"Oh, no, Grandfather!" I cried before thinking about it. "I love getting the paper for you. Just think how many times I've done it with no occurrence. Please, please let me continue."  
  
He glanced at me, then raised his eyebrows. "All right, Victoria. Whatever you desire. But if it happens again, then I won't allow it to continue."  
  
"Of course," I answered, and my heart pounded. I somehow knew that I must go to see the newsie again.  
  
The following day, I dressed my hair in braids and ribbons which matched my light pink dress, which I put on over the other layers of under- skirts. I wore my old white boots which matched this dress more appropriately than my new black ones, and picked up my pale pink parasol. Grandfather handed me the money, and I showed him how I put it into a pale pink reticule to keep it safe. He nodded, and I left the house.  
  
I headed to the same corner as the day before, but Mush wasn't there. Snap was, though. "Hey, it's the pretty little lady," he called teasingly as I approached. "How's it goin', Angelface?"  
  
"Where's Mush?" I asked, ignoring his advances.  
  
"Mush?" he repeated blankly. "Why ya wanna talk to him?"  
  
"I just do," I answered.  
  
"Well, he's on a corner yonder today," he said, pointing behind him. I thanked him and headed in the direction.  
  
I couldn't find him for a while. Every newsie I ran into pointed me to another corner, until finally I found the one he was on.  
  
"Bit out o' yer way, wasn' I?" he asked as I approached. He wore an easy grin.  
  
I smiled cautiously. "I wanted some exercise."  
  
He narrowed his eyes for a moment, scrutinizing me, then shook his head. "I don' understan' you," he laughed. I laughed, too. He stopped after a bit and looked at me. "So what pape can I get for ya, uh…"  
  
"My name is Victoria," I helped. "And are you selling The World yet?"  
  
"Nope, Miss Victoria. Sorry. We newsies are on strike." He pointed to his vest, where the message "I ain't a scab" was pinned.  
  
"A scab?" I asked.  
  
"It's someone who sells The Journal or The World," he answered. "They's chargin' us too much for the papes, so we newsies went on strike. We ain't sellin' til they's prices go down."  
  
I guess my face must have shown my disappointment, because he stopped talking and looked closer. "Hey, wha's wrong?"  
  
I shook my head. "I won't be able to visit you if you don't sell The World. That's all my grandfather reads."  
  
"Aha!" he cried joyfully. "I knew youse cames to visit me." My face blushed bright crimson. "No, no, it's nothin' to be ashamed of, Miss Victoria!" he countered himself. "I'm downrigh' flattered. No girl's ever done that for little me, 'specially not one of you well-t'-do's."  
  
"Well-to-do's?" I asked. "If you're here to judge me, I might as well be leaving! To go buy a paper—pape—from one of those… those scabs!" I turned, but he caught my arm and forced me back to look at him.  
  
"Don' be gettin' all mad, Miss Victoria!" he said, and his eyes glittered earnestly. "I didn' mean t' insult ya. I think you'se just plain great."  
  
I looked up at him, and found myself smiling. "But how will I see you again?" I asked.  
  
"I'll come to ya." His hand found mine.  
  
"When?" I whispered, my heart pounding.  
  
"How's three o'clock?" he asked.  
  
I shook my head. "That's tea time with Mother."  
  
"Tonight, then. Ten o'clock."  
  
"Ten? If I'm caught, my father will kill me!"  
  
"Then—"  
  
"No. Ten it is." I smiled at him, but I could hear my heart in my ears now. I'd never snuck out of my house, especially never to see a boy. I turned and walked away from Mush, but couldn't keep the smile off my face all the way home. 


	3. Don't Delay

Chapter 3  
  
"How was your day, Victoria?" Mother asked, as we sat in the parlor with Grandmother and had tea. Grandfather doesn't like tea time and usually finds an excuse out of it, and Father was at work.  
  
"I read a book," I said lightly.  
  
"Did you enjoy it?" Grandmother asked.  
  
"It was delightful," I answered. I asked them how their days had been as well, and theirs were equally, if not more, boring than mine.  
  
Yet I couldn't help but notice how Grandmother kept giving Mother a look, and Mother would shake her head. Finally, Grandmother burst out, "Just tell the girl, Margaret, for heaven's sake!"  
  
"Mother," my mother said in a controlled, hushed voice, "She doesn't need to know yet."  
  
"Know what?" I asked.  
  
Mother straightened up. "See what you've done?" she hissed at Grandmother, then turned to me. "Well, you know how I've always wanted to have more children?" she asked me. I nodded politely. Was she planning to become a schoolteacher? I almost laughed at the thought of my mother teaching arithmetic. "Well, I'm… with child."  
  
I stared at her. 'With child'? "You're having another baby?" I blurted out. My tea cup overturned from its saucer and fell into my lap, staining the pale pink dress.  
  
"Oh, no," Grandmother breathed, reaching forward with her napkin to try to blot the dress. "You'd better go give that to Rose right way. Perhaps she'll be able to treat it…" She shook her head. I stood up, placing my cup and saucer back on the table, and hurried from the room and up to Rose's attic room.  
  
Rose is one of our maids, and she clucked her tongue at my dress. "Really, Victoria, when are you going to learn?"  
  
"Well, when Mother springs information on me like the fact that she's going to have another child, what else am I supposed to do?" I glared at her. She ignored the look, twirling me around to unbutton all the buttons in the back.  
  
"You should be happy for the Madame, Victoria," she answered softly, raising her eyebrows at me after she'd pulled the dress over my head and gotten to work on the stain.  
  
I sighed and left the room, pulling on a blue robe over my underclothes and walking to my room. I looked around it, and saw all the things that were mine—fluffy white bed, white dresser and bureau, white vanity, gilded mirror. Would I have to share all this with a baby? I walked to the bureau and opened it, pulling out a light blue dress with pink ribbons. I pulled it on, and called to Bonnie, another of our maids, to button me into it. She did so and I scrutinized myself in the mirror. I looked at what Mush must've seen: big, dark blue eyes, dark brown hair. A petite frame. I reflected on the fact that I wasn't too bad-looking, and perhaps even pretty.  
  
That night, I climbed into my bed completely dressed, and pulled the covers up to my chin. Mother and Father came in, and I said goodnight. They left the room, and shortly after, the clock downstairs chimed nine times. I lit a candle. By the soft glow, I brushed my long hair out. It was wavy from the braids of the day, and seeing it down made me look a whole different person. I rather liked the way it looked, though. I decided I didn't like the blue dress any longer, so I put on a dark green silk that only rustled slightly. I put on my bedroom slippers, because my boots would make sounds on the stairs. Then I waited, and waited. I heard Grandfather shuffling around, then enter his room on the opposite side of mine. I knew Grandmother was already asleep.  
  
Usually by this time my eyes would be heavy, but tonight I was wide awake. I still couldn't believe that I, Victoria, could be leaving my house at night to meet a boy! But, I reminded myself, it wasn't just any boy. It was him. Mush.  
  
I made a face in the mirror. Mush? The name wasn't romantic, like in those novels Rose liked. I wondered what his real name was.  
  
To pass the time, I picked up a book from my bedside table. It was Romeo and Juliet, by Shakespeare. Mother dislikes Shakespeare greatly, so I was really not supposed to read it. But Grandfather is a big fan of Shakespeare, and got me the forbidden books anyway.  
  
Before I knew it, the clock downstairs chimed ten times. My stomach rose to my throat. I rose from the bed and, holding my candle, went slowly to the door. I opened it and cupped my hand around it to shield the light from being so harsh that someone behind the closed doors noticed it, and padded my way towards the stairs.  
  
I wished that I had stayed in the blue dress, because despite the fact that in the day the dress was a soft shuffle, in night's silence it seemed to be screaming for attention. I held my breath as I descended the stairs, each move of mine seemingly accented by the rustling silk. I breathed a sigh of relief as I got to the main floor, but I wasn't home- free yet. Bonnie's room was on this level, and she was my worst threat, as she woke up at the slightest noise. I tiptoed past her room and went out the side door onto the wrap-around porch—she would have surely heard the creak of the front door, but the side door was purely silent.  
  
Holding my candle and still shielding it, but this time from the wind, I rounded to corner of the house to the front porch. "Mush?" I whispered as loudly as I dared. There was no reply, and a quick overview showed he wasn't sitting on the porch swing or in the chairs. I sat down to wait.  
  
"Miss Victoria?" came an urgent whisper five minutes later. I shifted uncomfortably—I'd forgotten from last Christmas, when I'd first worn the gown, how incredibly stiff and torturous it was to wear; I'd just realized it now, after an hour wearing it. I held out my wavering candle to see, and a scuffed boot tentatively stepped up the stairs. I rose, and looked happily into his face.  
  
He looked just as he always did. He hadn't put on his Christmas best to see me. For a second, I was disappointed, but then I wondered if he even had Christmas best. Both days I'd seen him, he'd been wearing black pants that ended just below his knee, a green shirt over a white shirt, and a brown vest, with brown boots. I wondered what it would be like to wear one outfit all the time.  
  
"I'm sorry I was late," he whispered, taking my free hand, "but I couldn' get away. The boys were much more awake than usual today, on accoun' of all the strikin' against the papes we's been doin'. I couldn' even shake Snap off. Sorry, he's down there. He promised not to bother us." A hat was raised into the air from below the porch's rail, and I held my candle out. A grinning face came into the light.  
  
"Evenin', Angelface."  
  
I exhaled slowly, then turned back to Mush. "So how was your day?" I wondered, looking at him in the soft candle light.  
  
"How's 'bouts we sit down?" Mush offered, taking me by the elbow and helping me sit in a chair. I felt the harshness of the dress come back into reality, and winced. Mush was too busy sitting down himself, and didn't notice. I made sure I had a pleasant expression when at last those eyes wandered back to my face. He told me all about the paper strike, and it was incredible—I couldn't believe all that the New York newsies would go through, united like this.  
  
The still night air stretched away from us as he told me about his friends and his life. He asked about mine, too, but I found his answers so much more liberating that I kept my responses brief.  
  
"Is it really amazing?" I asked softly in a lull in the talking. "Being on your own? Not having to worry about family pressures and such?"  
  
He was quiet for a moment. "I wouldn' say amazin'," he finally said. "Just… differen' than youse." He shrugged. "I tell ya, I wouldn' mind livin' in this here house!" We both looked up at the grandeur. He let out a low whistle. "Youse got it made, Victoria."  
  
I made a face. "My name sounds so… formal. I hate it."  
  
"I love it," he answered softly. The candle was almost burned out, but it spread its feeble light enough to show me that he was bending closer to me. I let myself lean in, too, and a moment later felt his lips touch mine. I'd never been kissed before, but it certainly wasn't bad. In fact, it was amazing.  
  
It just went on and on, and I didn't want it to end. Then, Snap whispered loudly, "Golly, when you guys's gonna come up for air?"  
  
Mush laughed and the mood was broken. I wanted to kiss him some more, but I didn't need to, because his laughter was so bright and glorious, his spirit so vibrant and carefree, I was happy just being with him.  
  
"So you really don't like your name?" he said to me, scratching his chin thoughtfully. "Well, if youse was a newsie, your name would be…" He was silent for a moment as he thought. "Daffodil."  
  
"Daffodil?" I repeated. "Why that?"  
  
"'Cause it's me favorite flower," he answered with a grin.  
  
"Are you almost done?" Snap whined from the lawn. "Mush, we's still gotsta sell papes tomorrow, brigh' 'n early. So tell your girl goodnight, an' let's go home t' bed!"  
  
"I guess he's right," Mush said, standing up and helping me to stand too. I still held my barely-lit candle, which was more like a pile of wax with an miniature flame now. He brushed my long hair from my face, and kissed me, lightly, again. "Goodnight, Daffodil."  
  
"Goodnight," I whispered as he moved from the porch. "Wait!"  
  
"What?" he asked, turning back.  
  
"What's your real name, Mush?" I asked shyly.  
  
He grinned at me again. "I don't rightly know. Me parents died when I was but two, an' I went to an orphan's home. Theys there always called me Peter, though, up until the time I was ten an' theyse realized that no one were gonna adopt me, so theyse turned me out." He walked down a step, then stopped. "When can I see ya again?"  
  
"I'll try to come tomorrow," I pledged. "If not, come again tomorrow night."  
  
"I will. Goodnight again, Victoria."  
  
"Goodnight, Peter."  
  
As he and Snap moved into the darkness, I looked down at my candle, which finally gave up and extinguished itself. 


	4. Nothing Can Break Us

Chapter 4  
  
The next morning, I put on a yellow and white striped dress, and again, the white boots. I wore a fashionable hat which matched the dress, and also had my best corset underneath (some of my dresses, like the ones I'd worn the day before, didn't require a corset because of their style and cut, but this one did). Grandfather looked impressed with my outfit when I came downstairs, but didn't say anything, just handed me the money for the paper. He gave me a little extra, too. "You don't need to buy from a newsie, you know," he told me. "I'd really like a paper today. Please buy it from a cart if those boys aren't selling." He turned back to his breakfast, and I left the house.  
  
Snap was on his now-regular corner, and gave me a tired, but big, grin. "Hey," he said, nudging the boy standing with him. "That's the girl me an' Mush's tellin' you about. You know, his girl."  
  
The boy looked at me in interest. "Good mornin', Miss."  
  
"Good morning. Good morning, Snap. Where is Mush, please?"  
  
He told me the exact street corner today, and it wasn't nearly as much of a hike as the previous day's. Mush was talking earnestly with the boy he was standing with. The boy was taller, and good-looking; still, Mush was more appealing to me.  
  
"Good mornin', Miss," the other boy said, since Mush's back was turned to me. "Can I get you a pape?"  
  
"No, but you can get me a newsie," I answered. Mush turned at my voice and grinned. "Good morning, Mush."  
  
"Good mornin', Victoria. Jack, this here's the girl I'se been talkin' about, Victoria."  
  
"You'se even prettier than 'e said," Jack told me, and kissed my gloved hand. I smiled at him, then turned back to Mush.  
  
"I suppose you're still not selling The World, are you?" I asked, looking at his scab notice still pinned to his vest.  
  
"Nope, sorry. But I do have the Times," he offered.  
  
I shook my head. "All my grandfather wants is The World. You don't think I'm too horrible for buying it, do you?"  
  
"Of course I don'!" he answered. "I'm jus' glad you still come an' talk to me." We smiled at each other. "An' jus' don' 'spect me t' sell it to ya! Jackie boy here'd have me head!" Jack laughed. "He's the leadah of us newsies." Mush proudly hit Jack on the back.  
  
"Snap looks really tired," I said with a laugh. "Perhaps he shouldn't stay out so late."  
  
Mush laughed, too. "I'm not even slightly tired," he confessed, stepping closer to me. "And if'n I were, the sight of you in tha' pretty yellow number would be enough to wake me up any day."  
  
I twirled around. "Do you like it? I only got it last week."  
  
"It's very pretty," he said. "Don'tcha think so, Jack?"  
  
"Yessir," Jack answered, not taking his eyes off me.  
  
"But the girl who's wearin' it is sure prettier," Mush continued. He stepped closer to me, and I could tell he was going to kiss me. I stepped away. On my porch was one thing; in the middle of the town square was quite another. He looked at me, confused.  
  
"Not here," I told him quietly. "Come meet me tonight." I looked over at Jack, who began to pretend to be interested in his papers. "You can bring him, if you'd like, instead of Snap. Snap might not make it through another day sleep-deprived." I didn't know why, but I liked the idea of someone else being there. It offered me some sense of security, even if the third person were a close friend of Mush's and therefore would help Mush no matter what.  
  
"All righ'. Same time?" Mush asked, taking my hands.  
  
"Yes," I answered, looking up into his eyes and knowing I was the luckiest girl ever.  
  
"All righ', then. Go buy yer World pape, ya traitor," he said lightly, laughing. Then he bent and kissed my mouth quickly, before I had time to react.  
  
I kissed him for a few moments, then pulled away. "I should slap you for that," I told him.  
  
"But ya liked it too much to," he answered with a sly grin.  
  
I laughed. "See you tonight."  
  
"Goodbye." I started to walk towards a cart where a man was yelling about selling Worlds. I bought the paper and then walked back to where Mush and Jack were yelling to passerby not only to buy their papers but to boycott the others. As I passed by with the heavy paper tucked under my arm, I slid the extra coins Grandfather had given me into Mush's palm.  
  
"To make up for me buying the other pape," I told him as I continued to walk, looking over my shoulder at him. He looked down at his hands, then shook his head.  
  
"Look, I shouldn' even have taken the money the las' time. Here, take it back," he said, running after me.  
  
"No," I answered, closing his hand in a fist over the money. I looked up at him. "I want you to have it. I don't need it, I don't want it."  
  
He kissed my cheek. "Youse be the sweetes' girl I'se ever known, Victoria." He winked at me, then turned and jogged back to the corner where Jack stood, watching us. The two began yelling again, and I headed for home. I waved goodbye to Snap and the other boy as I passed. Snap just yawned and raised a hand, while the other boy watched me with the same curiosity Jack did.  
  
When I got to my house, I noticed something on the side of the porch, and I wasn't quite sure how I had missed it leaving that morning. Lying on the seat where I had sat the previous night was a single daffodil. I smiled, picking it up. Then I went inside to, for once, deliver Grandfather his paper. 


	5. No One Can Make Us Give Our Rights Away

Chapter 5  
  
And so our secret rendezvous continued every night. Sometimes Mush would come alone, but more often he'd bring a friend or even two. I got to know them all pretty well: Jack, Snap, Racetrack, Snipeshooter, Bumlets, Crutchy, Skittery, and Snitch were just a few of them. They all laughed at the proper way I talked, and liked to imitate the way I pronounced words. Sometimes our meetings would last for hours into the night; sometimes, only a few minutes. I became more and more casual about my dress, eventually venturing to just wearing a nightgown under a robe. Mush liked it best when I wore my hair down.  
  
I also continued to visit him everyday, and would give him my extra money whenever Grandfather gave it to me. Whenever that happened, he'd try to give it back to me; when I wouldn't take it, he'd buy me daffodils with it. All the other newsies also began calling me Daffodil, instead of Victoria.  
  
This turned into a problem when, one Saturday, Father and I took a walk. "Mornin', Daffodil!" Crutchy told me as we walked by him. He tipped his hat and cheerfully grinned. I smiled at him.  
  
" 'Daffodil'?" my father asked, wrinkling his nose at the name. "Whatever does he mean by that?"  
  
"I haven't the faintest idea," I answered. Except it happened six more times. The last one to call me it was Mush.  
  
"Look, young man, I don't know what you… you newsies mean by the term, 'daffodil,' but I can assure you that my daughter is up-standing and will amount to much more than you ever will! Therefore, I don't want you speaking to her. Especially not in that… casual tone of voice! She is above you, and I demand that you respect her!"  
  
Mush looked him in the eye, and nodded. Tears filled my eyes as he let himself peek at me. "Don't you look at her!" my father scolded loudly. Mush turned away. It was all I could do to keep myself from jumping into his arms, but then we would be discovered, and Mush would be ordered to keep away from me. I couldn't bear that thought.  
  
Mush didn't come to see me that night. I waited on the porch from ten o'clock until two in the morning, then took my candle inside with me. The next morning, there wasn't even an apology daffodil on my front porch, which I thought was odd.  
  
Even Snap seemed different. "Mush, he don' feel so good today," he said stiffly when I inquired. "He stayed at the house."  
  
"Where do you boys live, Snap?" I asked, looking him straight in the eye.  
  
He shook his head. "It's no place for a lady like yourself, Daffodil."  
  
I continued to stare him down. "Please, Snap. I have to talk to him." He finally gave me the address, and I was went to the house, after making one stop.  
  
No one answered my knock, so I walked in. I looked around, but the house appeared empty. I found a staircase and walked up it, a creak accompanying my every step.  
  
"Who's there?" a voice asked. It was Mush, and he didn't sound a bit sick to me. I knew he had stayed home so he didn't have to see me.  
  
I entered the room with his voice. He looked over, and hid his surprise. "What're ya doin' here, Daffodil?"  
  
I kept my hands behind my back. "Visiting you. Snap said you were sick."  
  
"I ain't sick." He wouldn't meet my eyes.  
  
"Mush, I'm sorry for what my father said yesterday. It was out of line. He doesn't know you, or he'd—"  
  
"He'd what, Victoria?" It was the first time he'd used my real name in a long time. "Tell you that ya couldn' see me, that's what!" He now turned to me and glared. "We can't make this work. You'se a rich… aristocrat, and I'm…" He turned away again and muttered, "a newsie."  
  
"You're not just a newsie! You're vibrant, and aware, and sweet and funny and nice and you shouldn't punish me because my family is close- minded!" I stood and looked at him, tears starting in my eyes again.  
  
"Punish you? I'm not punishin' you. I'm letting you live a better life."  
  
"If your definition of a better life is one without you, then I'd rather have the worst life in the world." I stared at him. "I love you."  
  
"I love you too, but that can't keep us."  
  
"Yes, it can," I argued. "I won't let you give up on us." With that, I took out from behind my back the one item I'd stopped for. I handed him the single daffodil. "You let me step away from all the pointlessness of my life. You let me be Daffodil. And that is the most precious gift anyone's ever given me." Now the tears began to fall. "Please, come and be with me again," I said, kneeling beside the bed he was in. "I love you." I held his hand and kissed his fingers, one by one.  
  
"I thought your dad made ya change youse mind abou' me," he said, clasping my hand tightly and pulling it closer to him. I sat on the edge of the bed. "I'se thought I'd never see you again."  
  
"I waited four hours for you to come last night," I said softly.  
  
"Then I apologize fer not comin'." He pulled me down towards him and gently kissed me. "You'se better be gettin' home before yer fam'ly misses ya."  
  
"Will you come tonight?" I asked.  
  
"Of course." He smiled at me, and I left the room.  
  
On the way home, I reflected on how good he looked shirtless.  
  
*  
  
That evening turned out to be one of our worst at home. Mother, now looking more and more pregnant, was throwing a fit because she wanted a special pink towel clean, even though she'd only used it that morning and Rose hadn't had the time to wash it yet. Father didn't like the dinner, Grandfather was in a bad mood because the newsies strike had yet to end, and Grandmother was ill with a cold.  
  
"Victoria?" Rose asked as she served dinner. "Are you feeling all right, child? You look exhausted."  
  
I wanted to tell her that she should try staying up every night until all-hours just to be with a forbidden boy, but knew I couldn't.  
  
"Oh, like she has a hard life," Mother said grumpily, waving her fork at me. On days when the pregnancy makes her agitated, she's liable to wave utensils around. "She sits on fluffy cushions and reads all day. When's she going to find a husband and get married? Then she'll know what a fine life I lead."  
  
"Oh, stop whining!" Father said, throwing his napkin on the table. "And I cannot eat this food, it's atrocious."  
  
"Me stop whining! What about you!" Mother squawked back, brandishing a spoon at him.  
  
"My head hurts…" Grandmother said faintly.  
  
"I'm so tired of this!" I finally burst out, standing up. Everyone stopped talking and stared at me. "I'm tired of the way you all act! All high and mighty, turning up your noses at anyone who seems to be beneath you? Well, guess what!" I glared at each person in turn. "I've been seeing a boy, one who you all wouldn't approve of. Not only that, but I've been getting to know his friends as well! And not only do they not have family money, but most of them don't even have families! And… I love him! And you, Father, it almost killed me yesterday when you yelled at him and told him he was beneath me, even though you didn't even know him!"  
  
"Are you telling me," Father said through clenched teeth, standing up as well, "that you have been meeting with a common newsie?"  
  
"Yes," I answered defiantly, lifting my chin.  
  
"Oh, my heavens," my grandmother said, staring at me.  
  
"And why did they all call you Daffodil?" Father asked dully, but I knew he'd already put it together in his head.  
  
"It's Mush's favorite flower, and he said it would be my name if I were a newsie."  
  
"Oh, my heavens!" Grandmother repeated. "Bonnie, bring me some wine!"  
  
Father stared at me. "Go to your room. Stay there. And, I forbid you to see these newsies, ever again."  
  
I stared at him evenly, then nodded. "Okay." I left the room and went upstairs. Somehow, I was now void of tears. But I did have a plan. 


	6. Arise and Seize the Day

Chapter 6  
  
A lone whistle sounded through the air. To the untrained ear, it was a bird. To me, it was Mush. I whistled back.  
  
He rushed onto the porch a moment later, took me in his arms, and kissed me. I kissed him back. Then Jack curiously asked, "What's that?"  
  
Mush pulled away and looked where Jack was pointing. On the porch next to the chairs was my suitcase. Mush looked up with questioning eyes. "What's goin' on?"  
  
"I'm leaving. With you." I picked it up and held up my chin.  
  
The boys began to laugh. "What'chu talkin' 'bout?" Mush asked. I brushed past him and was halfway down the sidewalk before he caught up. "You can't be serious."  
  
"My father forbid me to see you. Therefore, I forbid myself to see him." Mush caught my arm and made me stop walking. He took my suitcase from my hand.  
  
"Daffodil, ya can't handle it out here." He spoke seriously. "It's hard. I know you're tough, tougher than I ever thought a rich girl could be. But you're still not suited to life on the streets. You'se used to steady meals and not payin' for… anything. I love you, but ya can't handle it out here."  
  
I stared at him. "And I say I can." I grabbed my suitcase back and headed back down the street.  
  
That first night, Mush and Jack took me back to their house. They weren't supposed to let me in, since I'm a girl, but Mush wasn't about to let me spend the night on the street. He let me have his bed and slept beside it on the floor. He reached up and grabbed my hand, and we slept that way until morning.  
  
Which is when the chaos started.  
  
"Mush! Mush!" It was barely light outside when someone hunched over my bed and started shaking me. "Wake up, it's time to go—"  
  
"OW!" Mush moaned from the floor beside the bed as someone jumped down from a top bunk and landed on him.  
  
"…Mush?" The boy who'd been shaking me, who I now recognized as Specs, went around the bed to the other side to get a better look. "Why'se you on the floor? And who's in yer bed?"  
  
"Daffodil," Mush mumbled.  
  
All activity in the room stopped. Heads turned in my direction as I groggily sat up.  
  
"You let a girl in. You let a girl in," Boots kept saying, shaking his head.  
  
"Oh, please. I'm not just a girl," I chided. "You fellows all know me."  
  
"Yeah, but you'se didn't know me enough to see me in me underwear!" Skittery said, and he actually had good reason, as his were pink.  
  
"Oh, grow up," Mush mumbled. He sat up and grinned at me. "I can't believe you ran away from home. Wit' me."  
  
"She ran away? Oh, what, three blocks away?" Skittery interjected. "Wow, she deserves an award for tha' one." He made a sweeping bow to me.  
  
"Hey!" Racetrack suddenly shouted. "That's my cigar!" He pointed an accusing finger at the kid in his bed's lower bunk, Snipeshooter.  
  
Snipeshooter took the cigar from his mouth, saying, "You'll steal anudder."  
  
"Hey, bummers, we got work to do," Kid Blink told them.  
  
"Since when did you become me mudder?" Specs taunted.  
  
Crutchy shook his head. "Ah, stop yer bawlin'!"  
  
A bunch of them, Mush included, shouted back, "Hey! Who ast you?"  
  
Jack looked about dead on his feet, and Mush went over, pulling on his suspenders. "Hey, Jackie, how'd ya sleep last night?"  
  
"On me back, Mush," Jack answered drowsily. Mush let out a chirp of delight, and began to tell everyone Jack's wittiness.  
  
He finally got back to where I was sitting, dazed, on his bed. "I can' believe ya came here, still, Daffodil," he told me, shaking his head. "It's like I jus' met you fer the first time las' night!" I laughed, and he went into the bathroom. I listened to Crutchy and Jack talk about Crutchy's need of a new corner to sell papes, and then Mush burst out with advice: "Try Bottle Alley or da harbor."  
  
"Try Central Park, it's guaranteed," Racetrack's voice joined in.  
  
Jack advised, "Try any banker, bum, or barber."  
  
"They almost all knows how to read!" Skittery agreed.  
  
Kid Blink said happily, "I smell money!"  
  
Crutchy disagreed, "You smell foul." I let out a laugh at that.  
  
"Met this girl last night," Mush said, sticking his head out of the washroom door and winking at me.  
  
"Move yer elbow!" Crutchy yelled.  
  
"Pass the towel," Racetrack requested.  
  
"For a buck, I might!" Skittery laughed.  
  
When they came out, they were much more respectable-looking: most were dressed, at least. They moved about, each knowing where the others were headed in the room so no one was in anyone's way. Mush was still in the washroom when Jack came over to where I still sat.  
  
"Is you okay, Daffodil?" he asked softly, touching my hand.  
  
"This is just… so different," I said.  
  
Jack let out a laugh. "Mush tried t' warn ya las' night, didn' he? But no, yer too stubborn!" He looked closer still, and then smiled, sitting next to me. "Yer good fer 'im, Daffodil. He doesn' open up ter just anyone."  
  
"He always seemed friendly to me," I answered.  
  
"Aw, he's friendly, sure! But he talks to ya. Why'd ya think I came along with 'im so many times t' visit ya? He tells ya things about himself that even I didn' know!"  
  
I smiled at that.  
  
"Hey, Jackie boy, ya tryin' ter steal my girl?" Mush asked, coming over to the bed. He laughed good-naturedly, and kissed me good-morning. "Mmm, I sure do loves them kisses!" he said, licking his lips.  
  
"Hey, how's abou' one fer me?" Skittery said jokingly, sitting on the bed opposite.  
  
"An' me," Kid Blink decided.  
  
"Let me in on it!" Crutchy laughed. Soon all the newsies were crowded around. I let out a giggle.  
  
Then one of them suddenly realized they were going to be late for the paper buying.  
  
"Well, c'mon then Daffodil!" Mush said, as they all rushed from the room. "What a fine life, carryin' the banner!"  
  
Smiling, I followed him from the room, clenching his hand tight. 


	7. Now Is The Time

(A/N: Okay, so far I have used to term "girl" instead of "goil," and stuff like that. I've used some newsie dialect, but not it all, because I felt it looked too hard to decipher. But, I figure you die-hard Newsie fans can figure it out, right? :D And if you don't know what I'm saying, let me know, or just say it aloud)  
  
We returned to the lodge house late that night, after the sun had gone down. I was exhausted, sunburned, and starving. All we'd had to eat was some bread early in the morning, and some bread with butter for dinner. Mush seemed perfectly content with the meager servings, and I didn't want to seem ungrateful by complaining. We'd had an eventful day: I'd met more of his newsies friends, including David and Les (who had a family but needed the work) and Spot, who was from Brooklyn and therefore didn't sleep in the same house as the rest of the boys I knew. Mush had taken me under his wing and, even though I wasn't any good at selling papers, hadn't gotten angry with me.  
  
"You did great ta'day, Daffodil!" he chirped happily as we entered Kloppman's lodging house.  
  
"I did not," I answered sadly. "I can't do anything! I should have stayed home. You were right."  
  
"What'chu talkin' 'bout? You was wonderful!" he said, kissing my cheek. "Them cust'mers sure like goils that talk all fancy! I sold lots of papes today, thanks to you!"  
  
"Hey, hey, no girls in here," Kloppman said, giving me a smile. "You know that, Mush." He turned to show me outside.  
  
"Please, Kloppman!" Mush objected, putting his arm around my shoulders and turning me back to the inside. "She ain't got no where's else to go!"  
  
"What about the girls' house down the street?"  
  
"Kloppman, please?" Mush said, looking at the older man sadly.  
  
"Yeah, Klopp. Give 'er a break!" Kid Blink shouted, and soon all the newsies were yelling for me. I smiled and ducked my head.  
  
"Why would you boys want a girl in your room?" Kloppman wondered.  
  
"Why wouldn' we?!" Snitch shouted back. He gave me a grin. Since that day when he'd tried to steal my money and then found out I really did know Mush, he'd been trying to make it up to me.  
  
"But there's no extra bed," Kloppman protested.  
  
"She can have Crutchy's bed fer now, and once he's back from da refuge, den we'll take toins sleepin' on the ground!" Snap suggested. "Daffodil's like a sistah t' us, Kloppman! Ya cain't just make 'er leave!"  
  
Kloppman looked at me and relented. "All right, boys. But you'd better respect her, and I don't want to hear another word. If she comes out with even one bruise from the hands of you boys, I'll take her myself down to the girls' house." All the guys hooted and agreed. "And you, Daffodil? Come with me, I'll show you my washroom. You can use that in the mornings. I'm always up long before the boys." He showed me the room, then I climbed the stairs to the big room the boys slept in.  
  
When I got in there, all the boys were kneeling on one knee, holding out a daffodil to me. "We gaves money t' Jackie boy t' buy 'em fer ya. He jus' got back in time; he was nearly too late!" Mush said. He was right in front, and he held three of the flowers. It was such an incredible sight, all those boys on one knee, offering me flowers, that I burst into tears.  
  
"Golly!" Skittery said, as Mush jumped up and gave me a hug.  
  
"Wha's wrong? Don' ya like 'em?" he asked, closing my fingers over the flowers' stems.  
  
"Of course I do," I answered, sniffling. "But you boys don't need to spend your hard-earned money on me. In fact, I don't want you to." I looked around at all the faces. "Thank you so very much, but please, keep your money." Mush pulled away and gave me a sweet grin. All the boys crowded around, giving me their flowers.  
  
"To Daffodil!" Racetrack shouted, lifting his flower into the air. "The first goil to penetrate this heah newsie nest!" He handed me the flower with a bow.  
  
"To Daffodil!" the rest shouted, laughing. Then they began to strip down to their underclothes to sleep.  
  
Mush pulled his shirts off and threw them next to his bed. He winked at me. "Wha', Miss Victoria?" he called teasingly. "You gonna sleep in that fancy red numbeh?" My face flushed as all the newsies, some half-dressed, turned to look at me and smirk.  
  
"Of course I'm not," I answered haughtily, and began to unbutton it. The guys all began to holler and Mush threw his head back and laughed. When I finally got down to only my lacy shirt and underskirts, they all cheered. I giggled along with them. If only my parents could have seen me at that moment.  
  
"Daffodil is wondoiful!" Boots shouted.  
  
"Daffodil's magnificent!" added Jack loudly.  
  
"Daffodil is going to sleep!" I called out. Mush's laugh sounded, loud and triumphant, from across the room, as everyone climbed into their beds. "So… keep down the noise!"  
  
"Keep down da noise?" Bumlets said, laughing. "Who says that?"  
  
"A word to the wise, Angelface!" Snap called. "The phrase is 'cheese it'!"  
  
There was a long pause while everyone waited. So finally I shouted, "CHEESE IT!" Everyone laughed again. I smiled to myself as candles were blown out and I curled up under the sheet on Crutchy's bed.  
  
In my dream that night, I was selling papers with Mush when my grandfather walked by. He didn't recognize me, even though he bought a paper from me. Then I began crying, and Mush comforted me while members of my family paraded in front of us, turning up their noses at me. "Oh yeah?" he shouted at them as they passed. "Well, you can just cheese it!"  
  
I awoke with a smile on my face. 


	8. Send Out The Call

The next night was a big rally with all the newsies. "It migh' be a li'l rough," Mush told me. "Maybe you'd best stay heah tonight."  
  
"But Jack's taking Sarah!" I protested. "I heard him talking about it."  
  
"I'd feel better abou' it," he said, looking me in the eyes. "I worry. Not 'bout you takin' care o' yerself, course, but the udder boys. Da boys from outta Manhattan. I don' know all of 'em so good, an' I worry abou' what they migh' do t' ya."  
  
"If you want me to stay here, I will," I answered with a smile. "I'll work on darning that shirt." Somehow the day before he'd managed to rip his green shirt, and so he'd been wearing only his white one. I had promised him I'd fix it but had yet to find the time. (A/N: All right, so Mush goes a while without the green shirt, and he has it again for the rally. So sue me.)  
  
He kissed my cheek. "I love ya, Daffodil. You'se da greatest."  
  
He pulled on a tweed suit jacket and left with the rest of the boys. I smiled as I got to work on his shirt.  
  
"Hey, Daffodil," said Mr. Kloppman half an hour later, looking in the room. "I saw your candle. I thought everyone was at the rally, and that Snipeshooter had left a candle burning again." He laughed to himself. "So what're you doing here?"  
  
I smiled. "Mush is overprotective of me. He didn't want me getting hurt there." I held up his shirt, which was laying on my lap while I read. "And I had to sew his shirt for him."  
  
He came over and looked at the shirt. "Say, you did a nice job with that!" he told me. "You had much practice sewing?"  
  
"Oh, I used to have to do needlework at my home," I answered. "See?" From my suitcase, I pulled a needlepoint sampler I'd made, with the words "Home Sweet Home" and some New York buildings.  
  
"Say, that's mighty pretty. Maybe you could get a job sewing at a lady's shop or something," he suggested.  
  
I ducked my head. "I don't think so, sir. I'd—I'd rather stay with Mush."  
  
At that moment, there came a great shuffle at the stairs. "Mr. Kloppman! Mr. Kloppman!" someone shouted.  
  
"What's wrong?" Mr. Kloppman answered, walking to the door just as a gang of newsies entered.  
  
"The bulls broke up the rally! They arrested half the fellas!" Snitch said, his eyes darting wildly.  
  
"Mush?" I asked, standing up and letting the shirt fall to the floor.  
  
"Yeah, him too," Snitch answered, looking at me. "I'se sorry, Daffodil."  
  
That night was cold and lonely, without the mumblings from Jack and Mush (who, besides talking, often laughed – loudly – in his sleep, until the other boys threw boots or hats at him) and just the knowledge that the boys were there. I opted to leave Crutchy's bed for the night and instead slept in Mush's. His scent was all over it, and I felt safe. Even though I wasn't scared of the newsies who remained, I wasn't as comfortable around them, either. There was nothing I wanted more than to visit Mush, but knew there was no way I could.  
  
I didn't go out to sell papers the next day, just sat in Mush's bed and cried.  
  
"Don' worry, Daffodil," Specs told me comfortingly. "He'll be back soon." Specs was the only other one who'd stayed in that day. He hadn't felt well.  
  
Just as the words left his mouth, there was a clamor on the stairs. "Daffodil?" came a voice.  
  
"Mush!" I called happily, raising and brushing the tears from my cheeks.  
  
"Denton paid our bail," he told me with a smile. "C'mon, we's all gatherin' to have a drink."  
  
We made Specs come with us, then headed down to Tibby's. Denton came in and Mush went over to thank him, then came back over to me. I was sorry when Denton said he was no longer allowed to cover the Newsies strike for the Sun newspaper, but I didn't know him, so I didn't feel the loss like the boys did.  
  
Over the next few days, the strike ended. It seemed regular to me, the days; since I hadn't known the newsies particularly before the strike, the days seemed normal. But once the strike was over, I found that life as a newsie was a lot more fun.  
  
"Yahoo!" Mush yelled as he and I finished selling our morning's World papers in record time. "Ya up fer swimmin', lil lady?" He grabbed my hand and we went down to Spot Conlon territory.  
  
"Hiya, Spot!" Mush called happily when he saw him. "I believe youse remember me goil, Daffodil?"  
  
"O' course I do," Spot answered, kissing my hand. I smiled at him. He was a funny newsie, as infamous for his selling ability as he was for his use of relating everything back to Brooklyn. He had become one of my favorites of Mush's friends, even though I'd only met him once or twice before.  
  
"Is it a'right if we's go swimmin' wi' yer crew?" Mush asked.  
  
Spot gave us the once-over. "S'okay with me. Is any udder of youse Manhattan boys comin'?"  
  
"I dunno," Mush answered. "I t'ink Jack said he might'n be down."  
  
"Good," Spot said, nodding his head. "I'se been wantin' t' talk t' 'im."  
  
Mush stripped down, tearing off his shirts and knickers, and throwing them in a solitary open spot. All the Brooklyn newsies were watching us, and I felt uneasy. "C'mon, Daffodil," Mush whispered. "They'll stop aftah ya get in. Dey don' really trus' us Manhattans."  
  
Luckily, at that moment, Jack came wandering in with a grin and half the Manhattan boys in tow. "Spot!" he called, spitting on his hand. Spot spit on his too and they shook hands.  
  
"Daffodil!" Racetrack said when he caught sight of me. "Deah me! Is you goin' swimmin'?" He placed a hand over his heart and staggered around, as if the idea caused him a heart attack. The rest of the boys laughed.  
  
"I don't know, Racetrack," I answered, looking at my hands. I wished beyond wishing I'd packed my swimming dress when I'd run from home; then again, I hadn't thought that I'd need it. The truth was, I'd only gone swimming in small ponds before. This was definitely NOT a pond; rivers are a whole other story.  
  
"Aw, c'mon then," Mush said, disappointment all over his face.  
  
"You go ahead, Mush. I'll just sit this one out. Maybe next time," I offered. He looked at me forlornly, but couldn't keep the look on his face for long. Soon it had turned into Mush's usual full-blown grin. He turned and jumped in the water. Spot and Jack had a little talk, and, soon, all the Manhattan boys had joined in, swimming with the Brooklyn boys.  
  
All the Brooklyn boys, that is, except Spot Conlon. 


	9. Join The Fray

"So, Daffodil," Spot said, sitting next to me on the dock as Jack somersaulted off it, letting out a cowboy yell. "Where'd ya meet Mush?"  
  
I told him the story of our meeting, including Snitch pushing me down. I realized I was talking too much and tried to stop, but Spot urged me on. He was a really good listener, as he peered at me with his clear blue eyes.  
  
"Hey, hold still," he told me once I'd finished. "Ya got somet'in in yer hair." I held still and he reached out to pull whatever it was from my braided tresses.  
  
"Hey! Spot! What'chu doin' to Mush's goil?" an obscure newsie called, and a second later, a dripping wet Mush was right in front of us.  
  
"You got a problem, Conlon?" he growled, knocking Spot's arm away. Everyone, including Spot and me, just blinked at him. Nobody messes with Spot Conlon. Nobody.  
  
"Whoa, whoa, wha's the big deal?" Spot asked angrily a second later, holding up his hands innocently, then balling them into fists. "You wanna figh' me, Mush? Ya wanna figh' me?"  
  
Mush seemed to have now realized what he'd done, but he didn't back down. Spot jumped to his feet, leaving just me dangling my feet over the water. All the newsies, Brooklyn's and Manhattan's, climbed back up on the dock for a better view. I covered my eyes as Spot pulled out his cane and took a swipe at Mush, which he barely escaped from.  
  
I couldn't see them, as my back was to them and I was covering my eyes, but I could hear the thud of fist on skin, and the cheering of the different sections of boys. I wondered why no one—especially Jack—stopped it.  
  
I winced at a really bad-sounding hit, and heard a Brooklyn boy shout, "Atta boy, Spot!", so I knew Mush had been hit. A second later, I was jolted out of my eyes-covered, black world as I went flying off the bridge. From what I later heard, Mush had been so disoriented that he couldn't see where he was going, and had knocked into me accidentally.  
  
I screamed until I hit the water. My skirts soaked up the water, and I couldn't have swam if I had tried. I flailed about, as the river pulled me underwater. I couldn't breathe, and whenever my mouth tried to gasp for air, it only gulped water. Then I felt a body in the water close to mine, and an arm closed around my waist. A minute later, my face broke the surface. Relieved voices called out praise. Trying to sort out my water- logged brain, I looked over to kiss Mush. And I found that my rescuer was Spot.  
  
"Ya don' have t' look so surprised, Miss Daffodil," he said softly as he swam with me over to the bridge, shaking water from his thick, light brown hair. "Mush ain't the on'y one who cares for ya." When he swam with me under the bridge, he leaned over and kissed me. Since all the newsies were up on the bridge, no one saw. He didn't say anything after it, just helped lift me up while newsies pulled me from above. My eyes sparkled with tears when I saw Mush lying, unconscious, on the pier. Then, exhausted, I let myself fall to the pier and just cry.  
  
*  
  
Snitch carried me home, and Jack carried Mush. I was perfectly content to lie, immobile, in Snitch's arms; Mush, however, was a different story. He woke up halfway back to Kloppman's, and insisted that Jack put him down. He limped slightly beside Snitch the rest of the way (By the time we got back to the lodge house, his limp was gone, but he was clenching his teeth. He had what looked like it would be a serious black eye and some pretty, green bruises, but they didn't seem to bother him). He wanted to carry me, but Jack just told him not to be foolish.  
  
When we got to Kloppman's, the kind old man was bewildered. "What happened to the lot of you?" he asked in his soft voice.  
  
"Mush got in a fight," Skittery answered as he passed by.  
  
"Sure was a humdinger!" Boots praised as he entered.  
  
"An' I missed it?" Crutchy said. He was just coming down the stairs.  
  
"And to her?" Kloppman asked, peering at me. Snitch gently put me on the ground.  
  
"I fell in," I answered.  
  
"I knocked 'er in!" Mush fumed. "Spot jus' hit me, an' I couldn' catch meself, an' I knocked 'er in!"  
  
"Hold on!" Crutchy shouted. "You was in a fight against Spot Conlon?"  
  
"He was makin' a move on me goil," Mush answered, hugging me close to him. I kept my mouth shut about the kiss Spot had laid on me under the bridge – Mush couldn't have lived with that, and would've gone right back to get revenge: probably with the end result of Spot killing him.  
  
We all went up to the bunk room, and Mush convinced Snitch to be the one to sleep on the floor for the night so he could be near me. The rest of the boys were goofing off in the bathroom when Mush reached out and took my hand. We were both standing by the beds. "I's sorry that I knocked ya in da rivah," he said sadly. He wouldn't meet my eyes.  
  
"Oh, Mush!" I cried, and wrapped my arms around his neck. I kissed him, hard, on the mouth. When I broke away, he stared at me in shock. "I love you."  
  
"Whooooooo-ee!" he shouted, staring at me in elation. "Whooooooo-ee!" He started off for the washroom, yelling the whole way about how he should shove me into rivers more often.  
  
I smiled to myself, then organized Snitch's bed to my liking.  
  
The boys came back out a few minutes later, most of them sopping wet (apparently Snipeshooter had started a water fight) and yet, surprisingly, extremely happy, despite the fact that they'd just gotten dry from their swimming a few minutes before. Mush let loose with a little jig in the middle of the room, ending with a backflip. Apparently now his leg was no longer hurting him, and while his bruises had darkened, along with his black eye, his spirit apparently hadn't. The boys all laughed and clapped for him. So, of course, I had to show him up. I hadn't taken those five years of dance classes for nothing.  
  
When I finished with my own little dance, the boys all clapped and whistled, and Mush looked at me with the glint in his eye that told me he'd just thought of something. "You teach me how to dance all fancy-like, and I'll teach you how to dance street-like!" he suggested.  
  
Laughing, I agreed. Feeling more than just a little foolish, I taught him how to waltz and fox-trot. "I wish I had a cam'ra," Jack hooted when Mush started getting the hang of it. "A purty girl in 'er nightgown and Mush in 'is underclothes, dancin' all fancy!" All the fellows had a hearty laugh.  
  
Then Mush set forth, teaching me how to do his dances. All the boys cheered for me when I mastered his trademark backflip.  
  
"How'd I git so lucky as t' have a girl who's not on'y smar' an' purty, but who looks and dances like an angel?" he asked me. The boys, of course, called out sarcastic "awwww"'s and such.  
  
"I love you, Mush. You and only you." And with that, Kloppman came in to make sure we were all going to bed. I fell asleep as soon as my head hit Snitch's pillow. 


	10. Wrongs Will Be Righted if We're United

"Wake up, Daffodil!" Mush called out, joyfully. "C'mere, I wanna shows youse somet'ing!"  
  
"What is it, Mush?" I asked drowsily, shifting in bed. A quick peek showed me everyone BUT Mush was sleeping, and somehow they could ignore his early-morning squawking.  
  
He reached up onto the bunk I was in and pulled me out of it, setting me neatly on the ground. I tried to pry my eyes open. "Yeah?" I yawned.  
  
"Look!" he said lightly, taking my hand and leading me to the window.  
  
"That would be a fire escape," I told him. I tried to turn to go back to bed.  
  
"No, silly! In da sky!" He pointed above the buildings and, only because I figured the sooner I looked, the sooner I could get back to sleep, I looked.  
  
I gasped. "Oh, Mush! It's beautiful!" I looked at the sky, alive with vibrant colors of early sunrise. Pinks danced with purples, with blue cutting in; yellows and oranges slashed through. Mush looked over at me and grinned, his dimples showing.  
  
"Ya like it?" he asked quietly.  
  
I looked over at him. Despite the black eye and a small cut covered in dry blood on his cheek, he looked as handsome as ever. "I love it."  
  
"Sometimes, I'se wake up oily jus' t' watch it. Tain't nothin' like New Yawk in da summah." He grinned at me. "You'se da foist person I'se showed."  
  
"I'm honored," I said honestly. He put his arms around my waist and held me from behind, and together we watched the blue chase all the other colors from the sky, until Kloppman came up to wake everyone. He smiled when he saw us.  
  
"Don't do anything that makes me regret allowing her to stay," he warned Mush.  
  
"Aw, Kloppman! I'd neveh do nothin' to my Daffodil." Mush leaned in and kissed me softly, sweetly.  
  
"BOOTS!" The moment was broken by Kloppman beginning his morning rounds of waking everyone. Giggling, I stepped out of Mush's arms and, grabbing a dress from my suitcase, darted down the stairs to the washroom I used.  
  
I looked more closely at the dress. It was my purple one, the one I'd worn on the first day of meeting Mush and Snap. It now had stains, and the bottom was a muddy brown. I wrinkled my nose as I put it on, and buttoned the back. I slipped my white apron on over it, and it too was dirty. I washed my face with the water that waited ready in the pitcher for me (Mr. Kloppman never forgot to get me clean water), and dried it off with the little towel sitting beside the large bowl. I brushed through my hair and pinned it up. It was only then that I realized I could no longer wear the hat I'd been wearing – it had fallen off the previous day into the river. I sighed as I looked at my reflection. I guessed it was finally time to get myself a newsie hat.  
  
Mush and Kid Blink laughed when I suggested it. "Me goil? Me proper goil, in a newsie hat? Daffodil, I'se thinks you'se growin' up!" Mush said triumphantly. "Heah, ya can wear me hat today, and we'll buy ya one tomorra."  
  
With that, he plunked his hat on top of my carefully done hair. He let out a chuckle. "Now, Daffodil, you'se a real newsie."  
  
"A real newsie?" I echoed, liking the sound of it.  
  
"Yup." He took my hand, and we ran downstairs with everyone else. Mush got a few more papers today than the past days; we'd been selling all of them fairly easily, and he told me this was a good thing. An hour later, all the papers were gone, probably due in large part to the fact that Mush had such a horrible-looking black eye that the ladies passing felt sorry for him.  
  
"So? Is you'se up fer a swim t'day, Daffodil?" he asked me sweetly, holding out his arm for me to hold.  
  
I took it. "Oh, Mush, I don't know," I confessed. "You saw what happened yesterday. Do you really want to fight with Spot again?"  
  
"Ah, I've put it behind me," he answered optimistically. "He pro'bly didn' mean nothin' by it. Maybe he wasn' sure that youse me goil. But whatever he thought, today he'll know that we's together, and he won' do anythin' to ya. Me and Spot, we go back. He wouldn' do tha' to a friend. He's not a poison ya wanna get in fights wit', but he's also da mos' loyales' poison I'se know."  
  
With that, he determinedly set out for Spot's bridge, telling me the whole way that I'd see that he was right and Spot was still his friend.  
  
Spot apparently had the same attitude as Mush when we arrived, because he did a spit-shake with him. They talked for a moment, and laughed. "No, I dun like 'er, like that!" I heard Spot say warmly. "I jus' don' like t' swim, and she's in'erestin'. I'se sorry things got outta hand yestahday." He inspected Mush's face. "Say, tha's a nice shiner, Mushy!"  
  
"Ha, I on'y get shinahs from da best!" With that, Mush turned to me and beamed. "Ya ready t' swim, Daffodil?"  
  
"Mush, I'm cold," I answered. "I don't really feel like swimming today. I'll watch you, though."  
  
"A-a-all right!" he said happily, and, kicking off his outer clothes, jumped into the water. I sat on the side of the bridge and watched him splash with the Brooklyn boys. Spot sat next to me.  
  
"So, I's confused, Daffodil," he told me softly, watching the newsies, too. "Ya tell Mush tha' ya on'y love him, an' yet ya choose t' spend time on da dock with Spot. Tha' don' make sense t' me."  
  
"I just don't want to swim," I said stiffly, not taking my eyes of Mush. He looked up and winked at me. I grinned back.  
  
"Say, wha's this hat? It looks like Mush's," Spot accused.  
  
"That'd be because it is Mush's," I answered. "He's my beau. And if I want to wear his hat, I will."  
  
"Well, well, well!" Spot said, looking taken aback. "Ya don' hafta yell."  
  
The mid-morning sun began to get hot, and I rolled up the sleeves on my dress. Mush came clambering up so that his head was level to the pier and perched there, grinning. "You'se sure you don' wanna come swimmin'?" he asked me, raising his eyebrows. "Ya look migh'y hot, sweatin' up heah."  
  
"Mush," I said softly, "there's something I want to tell you."  
  
"Wha' is it, Daffodil?" he asked, climbing onto the pier and staring at me in concern. He led me a little ways away from Spot. Even though Spot concentrated on watching his newsies, I could tell he was in fact listening to us. I led Mush a little further away.  
  
"The truth is," I said, fumbling with my skirt, "I've never been swimming in anything bigger than a pond. This," I said, motioning at the river, "is too big for me." I looked up at him. "Are you mad?"  
  
"Mad?" He let out a mighty chuckle. "Why'd I be mad fer? Say, why didn' ya mention it oilier? (A/N: That means "earlier"… thought I'd clarify since it looks so weird.) Den I wouldn'-a-been draggin' ya heah! Dere's tons a t'ings we'se could be doin'! Includin'," he said slyly, "teachin' ya how ta swim, newsie style." He looked over his shoulder at all the Brooklyn newsies, including Spot, who had abandoned all pretenses and was openly watching us now. "But we'll do it latah, when dey ain' aroun'. I 'spect dat's why you'se didn' wanna say it in front a Spot?"  
  
"Yeah," I confessed.  
  
"I'll tell da boys t' meet us heah tanigh'. Don' worry! I'll only be's choosin' da ones I know's you trust." He turned to pick up his clothes, and I couldn't help but stare at how in shape he was, as his bare chest and wet, skintight underclothes showed. Then, we said goodbye to Spot, and headed back into our territory. I breathed a sigh of relief. Spot hadn't tried to make any moves today. Maybe we'd read each other all wrong. 


	11. Let Us Seize the Day

Mush hummed the whole way back to the lodging house, every now and then singing a lyric or two. "What a fine life… wit' me chums…"  
  
"What are you singing?" I wondered.  
  
"Aw, jus' a song me and the fellas use'ta sing. I won'er if'n they'se remem'er it…" He got his answer a moment later, when we passed Kid Blink in the street.  
  
"Hey, Kid!" Mush shouted. "Ya remem'er that one song we'se use'ta sing? 'Carryin' Da Banner'?"  
  
"Ain't it a fine life, carryin' da banner t'rough it all? A mighty fine life, carryin' da banner tough an' tall?" Kid sang, doing a little skippy dance in the street.  
  
Mush looked positively giddy. "Tha's the one!"  
  
He ran over and joined in Kid's dance, and the two sang together, "Every mornin', we'se go where we wishes, we's as free as fishes, shore beats washin' dishes. What a fine life, carryin' da banner home free all!"  
  
I clapped along and sat down on a curb to watch. Some other passerby stopped to watch, and one lady said breathlessly to her friends, "Aren't the poor boys adorable?" The other ladies agreed, squawking in their heavy accents.  
  
"C'mon, Daffodil!" Mush shouted, pulling me up from my seat. "Le's do that fancy dance! The… watz?"  
  
"The waltz," I corrected, and we started to dance. Some street musicians on the corner noticed and struck up a waltz tempo. I threw back my head and laughed, Mush-style. I heard murmurings from the crowd; they liked us and our dancing.  
  
Soon, money was being thrown at our feet, and Kid picked it up for us. Some other newsies came over, and they too began to dance, so Mush and I changed back to his "street" dancing style. Kid began singing "Carryin' The Banner" again, and all the other boys joined in. I wondered just when they'd found time to not only make this up, but come up with dance moves for it, too, as I just tried to copy them.  
  
"Daffodil!" Mush called out above the song. "Backflip!" He caught my eye and nodded, and we did backflips toward each other. The other newsies cheered as they ended the song. A large crowd had gathered, and money was practically showering on us. I looked at Mush and giggled. I had never before been so entirely, completely happy in my entire life.  
  
Mush took me in his arms and kissed me, while the other newsies scrambled for the money. "Meet at Tibby's!" Jack shouted. "We'se gonna divvy up there!"  
  
I hugged Mush close. A woman passed by us and said we reminded her of her own romance with her husband. I looked at her in her fancy, clean clothes, and highly doubted it, but I just smiled at her.  
  
Then the crowd dispersed a little more and I saw one face staring at me, stricken. It was my grandfather, clutching his World paper. I looked back at him, and he slowly took off his hat, in disbelief.  
  
He made his way over. "Victoria?" he asked quietly. It took me a moment to answer, because I was so used to Daffodil that Victoria no longer seemed my name.  
  
"Hello, Grandfather," I said stiffly, still clutching onto Mush. "This is Mush."  
  
"How'd'ya do, sir?" Mush said, grinning and tipping his hat.  
  
"Victoria, I think you should come home, at once," Grandfather said faintly.  
  
"I like it out here," I answered, pushing my frizzy, unkept hair away from my face.  
  
"And you, young sir, you must take your arms away from her. She is a proper young lady," Grandfather told Mush, some stern tones coming back into his voice.  
  
"This is my home now, Grandfather," I answered quietly. "And I'm not a lady anymore."  
  
"You'se ME lady," Mush told me sweetly, and kissed me.  
  
"Get away from her, I said!" Grandfather yelled, knocking Mush away.  
  
I glared at him. "Well, it was nice seeing you. Tell Mother and Father and Grandmother and Rose and Bonnie hello for me," I told him. I spit on my hand and held it out for him to shake, only because I knew he'd consider that my official notice of "going bad".  
  
Just as I'd guessed, he stared at my hand in horror, and didn't shake it. So I, shrugging, wiped my hand on my dress and then grabbed Mush's arm. "C'mon, we'se goin' t' divvy up wit' da udder boys, Mush," I said, in my strongest newsie accent. I took off down the street, pulling Mush in tow.  
  
And I didn't look back at Grandfather.  
  
*  
  
"Say, dat was some accen' back dere! Wondah where you'se picked tha' up," Mush laughed as we sat eating sandwiches in Tibby's. We'd gotten the most money, since Kid Blink had collected our waltzing money specifically for us, and so we'd bought ourselves lunch. After that, we were going to buy me an official newsies cap.  
  
Mush picked me out a gray one, and shoved it on my head. "Aw, yous'e look adorable!" he laughed. I peered out from beneath the hat. Mush paid for the hat, and then led me out of the shop to parade in front of all the fellows. They all laughed and told me exactly how wonderful I looked. We even stopped in the lodging house to show Kloppman, and he too laughed in delight.  
  
"Shouldn't we be selling the afternoon papers?" I asked Mush.  
  
"Aw, I t'ink t'day is too special fer dat! C'mon, le's go convince Jack, Blink and Race to come an' we'se teach ya how ta swim."  
  
We had to wait until Jack, Blink and Race were done selling their papers, but they did so relatively quickly. We headed to the river, but far from Spot Conlon's territory. We all got in, and the boys immediately began to push one another underwater. We enjoyed an afternoon of just splashing around, and, despite the river's vastness, I found it really wasn't all that different than swimming in the pond. The sun began to set, and we realized we'd been in there for a while longer than we'd meant to. As we climbed out, I saw someone sitting on the bank. He looked like he belonged there, even though he didn't; I supposed that was part of the magic of Spot Conlon.  
  
He had on his hat, and it hid his hair and made him seem, somehow, younger. While I grabbed my dry clothes, I could feel his eyes on me, and only me. It made me feel uncomfortable, and I put on my purple dress as quickly as I could over my wet underclothes.  
  
"Hello, there, Miss Daffodil," Spot said softly, and he handed me my new cap, which he'd been fingering. "What's new?"  
  
I looked around. All the boys were just barely out of the water, because Kid Blink and Jack kept throwing the other back in, and Mush (of course) thought this was hilarious and was laughing hysterically, and Racetrack was sitting at the edge with his feet dangling in, trying to light a cigar.  
  
"Spot, I want you to stay away from me," I said quietly, jamming the hat on my head. He gave a laugh, I suppose at my appearance. "No, I'm serious," I said. "If Mush knew you'd kissed me, then…"  
  
"You didn't even tell him?" Spot asked, raising his eyebrows. "Well, well, well. I'se very impressed, Daffodil. So you wants ta keep us a secret, too?"  
  
"Us? What us? There is no us!" I said, stomping one of my feet. "I don't want Mush to come and try to fight you and end up getting more hurt, that's all."  
  
"I think you'se more consoined about t'ings udder dan Mushy gettin' hoit," Spot answered, and pulled a slingshot out. He grabbed a pebble next to him and shot it into the river. It fell mere inches from Jack's head.  
  
"What the—oh, hey! Spot! What'chu doin' heah?" Jack called, standing up out of the water.  
  
"Jus' watchin' me favorite Manhattan newsies makin' fools of demselves," Spot answered, picking up another pebble and shooting it as far as it could go out into the river.  
  
Mush came bounding over, and scooped me up. "Mush!" I giggled, as he kissed my neck. "Go get dressed! No kissing me until you're properly attired."  
  
He put me gently down, then saluted. "Yeah, okay, ma'am." He ran over to his pile of clothes and eagerly put them on, then ran back over and picked me up again, kissing me some more. I giggled again.  
  
"I love you," I told him.  
  
"I loves youse, too!" he answered.  
  
Spot pushed himself to his feet, and as he went to talk to Jack, he lifted his eyebrows at me again. His expression clearly read, 'We'll see about that.' 


	12. Friends of the Friendless

The next few days passed uneventfully, at least in my eyes. Mush and I would sell our papes, and have food every now and then when we got hungry. (As the days passed, my hunger did, too, until I was able to survive happily on the same servings as Mush did) In the evenings, we'd hang out with the other newsies, and I met some girl newsies who lived in the girls' house Kloppman had tried to take me to. They were nice, but didn't exactly warm up to me right away.  
  
For some reason, Mush no longer suggested swimming over with Spot's crew. I couldn't tell if he didn't feel like it, or if he guessed something was up with Spot; but I was perfectly content to stay as far away from Spot as I could.  
  
One morning, I woke up to shouts from Boots: "It's Mush's boithday!" It took me a moment to realize that 'boithday' meant 'birthday,' and then I rose and looked down at Mush, who had taken the floor for me that night.  
  
"It's your birthday?" I repeated.  
  
"Well, I guess it is, if Boots says it is," he answered. "Boots knows ever'body's boithdays."  
  
"You'se be seventeen t'day, Mush!" Boots shouted.  
  
"Really?" he answered. "Dat means I'se be old. Like Jack!" he shouted loudly, standing up and clapping his friend on the back.  
  
"Ah, shuddup," Jack mumbled. (He is NOT a morning person.)  
  
"You shuddup!" Mush yelled back, grinning and punching Jack's shoulder.  
  
"YOU shuddup!" Jack yelled back, but he too was beginning to smile.  
  
"Boys," I said, rolling my eyes. I went to my suitcase and opened it up, rifling through. I found my pale reticule in the bottom, and opened it to see how much money I had. I smiled as I counted it, then stuffed it away. No one had noticed.  
  
I took my purple dress and went down to Kloppman's washroom. For the occasion, I even washed my hair, then tried to brush through it. It took a while, but finally the brush got through all the tangles and knots. I washed my face and hands also, and then put my dress on. My long, wet hair dripped all the way down my back, and I didn't put on my cap, because for today at least, I wanted to look like the pretty girl Mush had fallen for. I made a face at the ugly dress, which was now so stained and faded it nearly looked gray, but knew that I didn't want to wear my fancy dress to sell newspapers. There'd be time for prettier dresses that night.  
  
I brought a few ribbons out of the pocket of my apron and began the chore of braiding and tying my hair up in them. It went fairly quickly, though, with all my experience, and I headed upstairs to the dorm room nearly on time.  
  
When I entered, Skittery shouted, "Finally!"  
  
"Daffodil, it's time we's let ya in on a newsie tradition," Jack told me. He motioned over to the doorway, where Kloppman now stood with a piece of cornbread. Sticking out of it was a miniature lit candle. All the newsies burst into some "happy boithday" song, while Mush sat there and grinned. He blew out his candle and then dug into his cornbread.  
  
"See, 'e's gotsta eat all a' it in one bite," Snipeshooter told me as I watched Mush trying to chew with the big mouthful.  
  
"So what's ya gonna do's fer yer big day?" Racetrack asked, puffing on his cigar.  
  
We had to wait a while until Mush had finished his cornbread. Then he shrugged. "I'se jus' wanna spend it wit' me goil!" he answered.  
  
"Who saw dat one comin'?" Jack asked comically.  
  
That day, it was just Mush and me. Occasionally another newsie would run up and pat him on the back, but the two of us just meandered through the streets, talking. When Mush mentioned getting hungry around dinnertime, I said I had a surprise for him, and I made him wait for me outside the lodging house. I quickly changed into the only dress I had left that wasn't completely ruined, because I hadn't WANTED to ruin it—it was a filmy white, with light pink ribbons. I even put on a corset underneath, though I couldn't pull it nearly so tight by myself as Rose used to. I looked at myself in the mirror, and noticed I looked kind of pretty. More than kind of, I corrected myself. Very.  
  
I pulled on my white button-up boots (which I'd also kept hidden away to keep pristine) and as many layers of underskirts that I could, and then headed outside. Mush was joking around with Jack, David and Spot (oh, joy) when I appeared.  
  
It was priceless. All four boys stared at me, their mouths open, for what seemed like eternity. Finally, I held up the reticule and jangled the money inside. "C'mon, Mush, I'm buying you your birthday dinner."  
  
His eyes still wide, he nodded, and as he held out his arm to escort me, he peeked back at his friends as if to say, "Oh, YEAH."  
  
We sat down in a restaurant that I used to eat at with my family on Sundays. Mush kept looking around himself in wonder, and, for once, let me do the ordering when the waiter, Ralph, came.  
  
"Ah, Miss Victoria Thatcher!" he said with a smile. "Where have you been? I haven't seen you coming in with your family anymore!"  
  
"That's because I don't live with them anymore," I answered, smiling back. Ralph had always been one of my favorite waiters. "This is Mush, my beau. No one approved of him at my house, so I left."  
  
"You're kidding!" He leaned closer to the table, then turned to Mush. "You're lucky if you caught the eye of Victoria here. Many a man has tried to grab her up, but no, not just anyone will do for this princess!" He let out a laugh and straightened up. "Now what can I get you two?"  
  
I ordered for us, and Mush continued to look amazed when we were left again. "I jus' cain't believe that ya used ta belong t' this whole woild, too," he said softly after a little bit, taking my hand. Then he looked at me closely. "Why DID ya choose me oveh any a dem udder fellas?"  
  
I looked at him, and honestly answered, "I'm not really sure, you just seemed so … real to me." I held his hand up to my mouth, and kissed each of his fingers. "Happy Birthday, Mush."  
  
"I'se cain't hardly believe it," he said back. "I'se neveh t'ought I'd be havin' me next boithday party wit' a princess."  
  
"I'm no princess," I answered softly, as Ralph (the speedy and efficient waiter that he is – that, and since it was Wednesday, it wasn't exactly full at the restaurant) brought us our dinners. "Not anymore."  
  
"Daffodil, you'se will always be a princess t' me," he told me, and grinned as he looked down at his plate. "Happy boithday t' me! Da best goil in all of New Yawk, an' da best dinnah, too!"  
  
After our magnificent supper (which made my heart long for the meals I used to receive around the clock at my house), I tried to pay Ralph.  
  
"You put your money away, Miss Victoria," he told me. "If you'll come and visit me sometimes, I'll pay for it. Oh, and bring this character, too," he said, pointing at Mush, who was inspecting the cash register with interest. "He seems like he'd be good for a chat."  
  
"Oh, he is," I said, smiling at Mush. He jumped back in surprise when he hit a button and the cash drawer opened with a "ping", then looked at me sheepishly. "C'mon, Mush. I'm tired. Getting all dolled-up for you sure takes a lot out of a girl." We said goodbye to Ralph and Mush escorted me to the lodging house. There was a sight which scared me to death, and drove all thoughts of sleep from my mind…. 


	13. Raise Up the Torch and Light the Way

The lodging house was on fire. Mush let out a stream of swear words and sprinted towards the building. A bunch of the newsies were gathered outside. I ran after Mush, and heard him ask Snipeshooter, "Is everyone out heah?"  
  
"Kloppman went back inside," Snipeshooter said, his freckles standing out on his pale face. "'E said 'e wan'ed t' check, 'cause no one can fin' Snitch anywhere."  
  
"Holy smokes!" someone suddenly yelled. "Wha's goin' on?" At the sound of the familiar voice, we all turned to see Snitch come running up.  
  
Mush swore again, and then started for the building. "What're you doing?" I screeched, grabbing his arm and trying to pull him back.  
  
"Not now, Daffodil," he said lowly. He shook away my hand and searched the crowd. "Jack! C'mon! We'se gotta get Kloppman!" Jack sighed deeply, then nodded and the two of them took off.  
  
"Boys, you can't go in," the policeman said, trying to hold them back. "We're waiting for the fire patrol…"  
  
"They won' get heah in time!" Mush shouted. "Now MOVE!" Before the policeman had time to register what was going on, Mush and Jack had darted around him and into the tongues of flame.  
  
I turned away and hid my face from the sight. Someone put their arm around me, and I sobbed into his chest. I was sure that I'd never see Mush again. Why did he have to go running into that building? Why?  
  
The minutes ticked by, and I was in agony. I could feel the flames as if they were trying to get at me, not at Mush. I could just imagine the smoke pooling in his lungs, and could see him in my mind, collapsed on the floor, unable to move while the flames consumed his body.  
  
"Take 'er away from heah, Spot," someone said loudly over the noise.  
  
"Okay. C'mon, Daffodil. This ain' no place fer ya," Spot's voice said, and it was only then that I realized that he was the one I was crying on. He tried to lead me away, but I refused to move.  
  
"MUSH IS IN THERE!" I screamed, tearing away from him. "MY MUSH!" I fell to the dusty road, no longer caring about how beautiful my dress stayed, and cried heartbreakingly into my gloved hands.  
  
A moment later, I heard clanging of a bell as the volunteer fire service came up, and looked over in hope. At the same instant, a whooping cheer was let up from the newsboys. Smudged with ash and soot, Mush and Jack were escorting a coughing Kloppman from the house. Mush's shirt had several holes burnt into it, but he was grinning as happily as ever.  
  
I pushed myself from the ground and ran over to him, still crying. He let the policemen handle Mr. Kloppman, and took me in his arms. "Wha's wrong, Daffodil?" he asked sweetly, kissing my forehead.  
  
I looked up at him, the tears still streaming. "I thought you were going to die and I'd be all alone," I told him, hugging him as tight as I could.  
  
"I'd neveh get meself killed, Daffodil. If'n I did, who'd watch out fer ya? I'm neveh gonna leave ya," he promised, and hugged me tightly back. Then he stepped away. "Aw, look at wha' I did to youse dress! I'se sorry, Daffodil!"  
  
I looked down. The white skirt was filthy with dirt and soot, my gloves were stained, and I was sure that my hair was, once again, a mess. Then I laughed.  
  
Mush looked at me as if I'd gone insane. "Uh, Daffodil? Why'se you laughin'?"  
  
"Mush, I don't care about my dress. I'd rather run around in just my corset than be without you," I told him.  
  
He laughed, too. Then he looked at me thoughtfully. "So will ya, then?"  
  
"Will I what?" I asked, looking down at my boots to see that they weren't actually too dirty.  
  
"Run aroun' in jus' yer corset?"  
  
"Mush!" I said, looking up at him in shock and hitting his arm. He burst into gales of laughter, and, shaking my head, I joined in.  
  
*  
  
That night was the most uncomfortable night of my life. We all slept in a park, and I was on a park bench. The only good thing was that I slept in Mush's arms; but even with that reassurance, park benches are not meant for even one person to sleep on, and fitting two is just absurd. Add that to the fact that I was forced to sleep in my corset, and I was not a happy camper.  
  
The following night, we went to settle down again in the park. This time, I shook my head. "No."  
  
"No wha', Daffodil?" Jack asked.  
  
"You don' know anythin'!" Crutchy answered, with a chuckle.  
  
Mush laughed hysterically. "Didja heah dat, fellas? Jack ast Daffodil 'no what,' an' Crutchy tol' 'im—"  
  
"We heard, Mush," Skittery said grumpily. "Now what is you goin' on abou', Daffodil?"  
  
"You fellas have done so much for me," I said, standing up and looking around at the boys, every age and size, spread out in all directions. "Now it's time for me to do something for you."  
  
With that, I turned on my heel and exited the park. The boys all scrambled to their feet and followed me. "What're ya doin', Daffodil?" Mush asked curiously, when he caught up with me.  
  
I just smiled, and led the way down some streets.  
  
"Wai' a minute…" Mush said, as I stopped in front of my house. "Is you tellin' me dat—"  
  
"Come along, boys," I called. "You're sleeping at MY house tonight." I started up the walk. Most of the boys had come here with Mush, but a few hadn't, and I heard them whistle at it. I saw a curtain next to the door move, and knew that someone had seen us coming. When I reached the front door, it was locked, but this was no matter. From beneath my high-necked dress, I pulled out a key which I wore on a thread around my neck, and unlocked the door, and pushed it open. 


	14. Proud and Defiant

Chapter 14  
  
"Mother? Father? Grandmother? Grandfather? Rose? Bonnie? Pierre? Billy? Joseph?" I called out, naming my family members and the staff.  
  
Mother came to the doorway. She now looked VERY pregnant. "Victoria?" she asked, then burst into tears. I looked at her in shock. I'd been expecting a lecture, and then a turn-out. "My darling little girl! I've missed you so much!"  
  
She came over to give me as much of a hug as she could, with the baby inside her and all. In the doorway behind her stood my frowning grandmother. She looked at the twenty or so boys gathered behind me, and sniffed, then turned away.  
  
Father came down the stairs at all the noise. "What's going on?" He saw me and I watched his posture grow even more stiff. "Victoria," he said softly.  
  
"I t'ought 'er name was Daffodil," I heard Snipeshooter whisper softly.  
  
"Hello, Father," I said. I didn't see Grandfather anywhere, but this didn't surprise me. I figured he'd been the one to lock the door.  
  
"Bonnie! Rose! Pierre!" Father called, and suddenly his posture lost ALL stiffness as he ran down the stairs toward me. "Get out some food! Our daughter has returned!" He held me in a tight hug, and the maids came skittering around the corner, along with Pierre (the cook), Joseph (the butler) and Billy (the gardener).  
  
We all went into the kitchen. Mother sat quietly, crying into her handkerchief at the emotion of it all (I suppose the pregnancy held a big part in her emotionalism, as well). I introduced all the newsies who had come with me, and Mush was of course the perfect gentleman towards me, pulling out my chair for me and looking my father right in the eye when they spoke. (My father always liked that in a fellow man.)  
  
"So you're the one that Victoria ran away from us to be with," he said, but he didn't sound bitter, simply amused. This struck me as odd.  
  
Mush looked at him and nodded. "She's da bes' t'ing dat eveh happened t' me," he said. "I love 'er."  
  
My father looked at me, and I saw tears in his eyes. He nodded, just once, and I knew that was all that Mush and I needed. We had his blessing. "Oh, Papa!" I said, the childish name popping out as I rushed to hug him. "Thank you."  
  
"So why did you come back?" my grandmother asked. She was sitting stick-straight in her chair, not eating or drinking or laughing or crying or smiling or frowning or anything. She fixed her hard eyes on me.  
  
I lifted my chin defiantly. "The lodging house burned down," I answered. "We have no place to stay."  
  
"A-ha!" she said, standing up. "I knew that if she was coming back, it had to be because she wanted something. They always do, Elijah," she warned my father, and with that, she swept out of the room.  
  
"We heard about the fire. Of course, we didn't know that's where YOU stayed," Mother said softly. She looked around at all the dirty faces around her. "You poor children." She shook her head, and her ringlets bounced. "Rose?" Rose came over, drying her hands on her apron. "Get all the guest rooms ready, and bring down some extra blankets and such. We'll make room for all these boys." She gave me her best motherly smile, and I knew that, in her mind, at least, she'd just made all the boys her sons. I was pretty sure that that, too, was a behavior of the pregnancy.  
  
"Say… does dat mean I'se can take a bath in a TUB?" asked Specs.  
  
"An' eat more a dis food?" chimed in Jack.  
  
"Take us on a tour a you'se house, Daffodil!" Bumlets suggested. Smiling, I led them through the parlor, living room, my bedroom (they were all quite impressed by this time that I'd ever left these riches to stay with Mush), my parents' bedroom, the servants' quarters, the three spare bedrooms, the two bathrooms, the kitchen, the carriage house, the greenhouse, and the other places on the grounds, like the stable and the garden.  
  
"Ain' it amazin'," Mush said as Jack talked to my horse, Star, "how much dif'rence five blocks can make t' the housin' an' the situation?"  
  
"Can I ride 'im, Daffodil?" Jack called out, patting Star.  
  
"Tomorrow, Jack. It's too late. Let's all go inside; I bet we can convince Pierre to make us some food, and Specs can go take his bath."  
  
"I wan' one too, Daffodil!" nearly everyone shouted in some form.  
  
"In fac', how's abou' I take one wit' YOU?" Racetrack said, sidling up next to me. All the boys laughed except Mush, who hit him on the head.  
  
I just laughed at him. "You might want to get rid of the cigar. No smoking in the house—Mother's rule," I told him with a smile.  
  
"You'se KIDDIN'!" he said, staring at me in shock. "Wha' kind a prison IS dis?"  
  
I smiled. "I've asked myself that very question more times than I can count."  
  
I led the boys back across the lawn and into the house. Grandfather was still nowhere in sight. The boys decided to wait for baths in favor of food. Bonnie came in while we were testing some sample desserts Pierre had made for us. "We can fit three to a bed, so that's nine taken care of with the spare bedrooms," she said. "The chairs in the parlor are not very pleasant to sleep on, so we'll rule those out; however, the chairs in the living room are quite nice, so there's another four. That leaves…" she counted, "Six of you. There are nineteen, right?"  
  
"Yes'm," they chorused together.  
  
"Well, there are piles of pillows and blankets in the living room, so perhaps you can make your beds there on the floor. I'm sorry, but that's the best we could do."  
  
"Hey, dat's much bettah dan sleepin' in da park wit' nuffin!" Boots said, smiling at her. "Thanks!"  
  
The others echoed his thanks, and then, finally full, we all headed to bed.  
  
Rose helped me out of my dress and corset, and I pulled on a cotton nightgown. It felt good to finally have something cool and clean on. She left the room and I was just pulling back the heavy comforter on my bed and thinking how nothing had ever looked more inviting, when there was a knock on my door. I opened it and found Mush standing there, holding a blanket and a pillow and smiling.  
  
"Is it all righ' wit' you if'n I made my bed outside ya door?" he asked. "It'd be impropah fer me ta sleep in yer room, but I like bein' close t' ya."  
  
I couldn't resist his smile. "It's all right with me," I answered him. "Just watch out, Grandfather sometimes likes to walk around at night and he might step on you." He laughed, then kissed me goodnight, and closed the door. I climbed into bed and happily blew out the candle. I yawned only once, feeling incredibly safe, knowing Mush was outside my door. As I drifted off to sleep, I knew that was a foolish thought – what had I to be afraid of in my own house? I closed my eyes and smiled. 


	15. We'll Slay The Giant

AFL Chapter 15  
  
\\A*N: I really hate floppy disks!! :( I wrote this chapter, and chapter 16, and half of 17, and for some reason my floppy disk ate them! It also ate a new story I'd just written. ACK! So I think this chap used to be a heck of a lot better, but I was trying to remember what I wrote off the top of my head. I'm so sorry!! *curses all evil floppy disks*\\  
  
The next day, all of us decided to stay at my house instead of selling papers, except for Jack. He came back around noontime, happier than I've ever seen him. "Ha HA, read 'em an' weep, fellas!" he said happily, dropping a large amount of pennies on the table. "I sol' three hundred papes t'day!"  
  
"You made a dollah an' fifty cents?" Racetrack asked, staring at all the pennies. "D'ya know how much money I could make gamblin' a dollah an' fifty cents?"  
  
"No, but I know how much you could LOSE gamblin' a dollah an' fifty cents," Jack answered as he scooped the pennies back up and shoved them in his pockets. "Ya'd lose… A DOLLAH AN' FIFTY CENTS!"  
  
Mush began laughing hysterically, and telling everyone who would listen just what Jack had said. While he was telling Skittery (who was rolling his eyes), Jack turned to me. "Spot said t' give this to ya," he said, and pressed a crumpled paper in my hand. His eyes shone with curiosity. "'E wouldn' even let ME read it."  
  
I put the letter in the pocket of my skirt. Jack just gave me a look. "Wha', ya ain' gonna read it?" he asked.  
  
"Not right now," I answered. His look intensified. "All right, all right! I'll tell you what it says after I've read it, okay?"  
  
He nodded happily. "Tha' woiks for me!"  
  
"Hey, Daffodil! Didja heah wha' Jack said?" Mush asked me.  
  
"Yes, Mush." I laughed as he told me again, anyway.  
  
"Hey, fellas, I'se got a joke for ya!" Jack said, and as I walked into the kitchen, he took my chair. We had all been sitting in the dining room waiting for lunch, and I decided I should check on Pierre to make sure he was still alive. "Pulitzer and Snyder was out for a walk one day, when Snyder suddenly…" Jack's voice dropped off as I walked further into the kitchen.  
  
"Hello, Miss Victoria," said Pierre happily. He loves cooking for large groups of people, though I'm not sure why. "The food's almost ready." I grabbed some vegetables and headed back to the dining room, popping a carrot into my mouth. With any luck, I'd get back in time to hear the punchline of Jack's joke.  
  
"…An' he's comin' ovah in a coupla minutes," Jack was saying. Nobody laughed, so I figured his joke was over and he'd moved on to a new topic.  
  
"Who's coming over?" I asked, and since there were no more empty chairs, I stood behind Mush's chair and leaned on it.  
  
"Spot. Hey, ya read that letteh yet?" Jack asked.  
  
"Wha' letteh?" Mush wondered, looking up at me.  
  
"Spot told Jack to give me a letter, that's all," I mumbled. I didn't know what was in the letter, but I did know that I didn't want Mush to read it. I put my hand in my pocket and fumbled with the creased and crinkled paper.  
  
"Well, why ain' ya readin' it?" asked Mush, standing up and looking at me in concern. He gently took my wrist and lifted it, and pulled out my hand, which was clamped on the letter. He took it from my hand and smoothed it out, and began reading out loud. " 'Deah Daffodil, how is ya? I'se haven' been seein' ya aroun' lately.' "  
  
"Dat's not too bad!" Jack said brightly.  
  
Mush continued. " 'I wish I'se could take ya in me arms and hol' ya tight, like tha' one time. An' when we…' " Mush faltered for a moment, then drew a sharp breath and continued, " 'kissed, it was jus' poifect. You mean so much t' me, Daffodil. I hope Jackie Boy can get dis to ya, 'cause I'se goin' crazy without ya. Love, Spot.' " He turned away from me, and the letter trembled in his fingers.  
  
"Mush, no!" I said, looking at him with eyes brimming tears. "He doesn't know what he's talking about, he doesn't know what he's doing…"  
  
"Why would ya do this t' me?" he asked lowly, still not facing me. His voice sounded strange.  
  
"I just wanted to protect you!" I said. "He doesn't mean anything to me, but I knew that if you knew that he likes me, then you'd just go and get yourself beat up by him, and—"  
  
At that moment, Joseph (the butler) came in with a short but confident person at his side. "Miss Victoria?" he said, and then turned away, leaving the room to do his other duties.  
  
"Nice place ya got heah, Daffodil," said Spot Conlon calmly, looking around at the splendor of my house and not noticing the intense situation at hand.  
  
"I trusted ya, Daffodil," said Mush quietly, and he finally turned to look at me. I was shocked at the tears running down his face, splashing onto the floor. "I'se in love wit' ya. I though' ya loved me, too."  
  
"I do, Mush!" I answered, beginning to cry too. "You mean everything to me!"  
  
"I can't believe dis!" Jack roared, standing up. "Come on, fellas, I think it's time t' go." He glared at me as he rose. So did the rest of the boys. They filed out of the room, and Mush was the last to leave. He looked at me with an expression of love, hate, confusion, and hurt. I knew I'd never forget that expression for as long as I lived.  
  
"Wha' happened heah?" Spot asked, raising his eyebrows. He took off his hat and threw it on the table, then ran his hand through his hair.  
  
"Mush read your stupid letter!" I screamed, suddenly more angry than I'd ever been. All sorrow left me as the only thing I felt was pure hatred toward Spot Conlon. "He knows we kissed, he knows EVERYTHING! And it's ALL YOUR FAULT!" I held up my fists. "Fight me, Spot. Go ahead. You've already caused the breaking of my heart, so why don't you just cause the breaking of my body, too?"  
  
Spot just reached out and caught hold of my fists, lowering them to my sides. "I don' fight goils," he answered. I began to sob and sank onto the fainting couch in the corner of the room.  
  
"How could Mush jus' do that t' ya?" Spot mused, walking around the room. "If you was me goil, I'd neveh let you go. I'd neveh leave ya, eveh. Wha's da mattah with him? He didn' even put up a fight for ya."  
  
That only made me cry harder.  
  
"I won' leave ya. I promise, Daffodil," he said, and grabbed my hands, pulling me to a standing position in front of him.  
  
"DON'T CALL ME DAFFODIL!" I screamed. "MY NAME IS VICTORIA ANNE KATHERINE THATCHER!" I reached up and slapped him.  
  
"I though' every newsie liked t' keep deir newsie name," he said, scratching his head. The slap hadn't even phased him.  
  
"Not if it's one that Mush gave me," I whimpered.  
  
"Victoria's a much bettah name, anyhow," Spot told me, brushing away my tears. He leaned closer, and kissed me. It was different than Mush kissing me, but then it had to be, I supposed. His massaging lips relaxed me, and before I knew what I was doing, I was kissing him back. My hands got tangled in his longish light brown hair, and the tears that were still falling from my eyes rested on our lips and made the kiss taste bitter.  
  
From behind us there came a little surprised sound, like an "umph!" Spot and I looked over. "Forgot me hat," Mush said coldly, brushing past us to his spot at the table. 


	16. Neighbor to neighbor, father to son

AFL Chapter 16  
  
Mush left as soon as he could, not speaking another word, no matter how much I begged him. Spot too left shortly after, but he promised to return as soon as he could. I ran up to my room where I resided for the whole of the afternoon and evening, crying and wondering where my life had gone wrong. When my tears had dried up, I started to read Shakespeare's Hamlet, which Grandfather had given me long before along with Romeo and Juliet. After I read the part about Ophelia's drowning, I cried some more, because I understood her: she'd lied to Hamlet because she thought she was helping him get better, and then in turn she'd gone crazy. I wondered if I would go crazy because Mush wasn't around me anymore.  
  
Around nine-thirty that night, I was so thirsty that I decided to venture from my room. I remembered Pierre had made some fabulous lemonade the day before, and I went to sneak down the dark stairs, holding only my candle. As I passed by Mother and Father's room, I heard them talking quietly. I was about to move down the stairs when I heard my name. I pressed my ear to their door.  
  
"…How can she just expect us to accept and forgive her?" Mother was saying. "She hurt us beyond belief, but all she can think about is herself!" She sounded very angry.  
  
"Don't worry, Meredith," said my father. "We'll turn her back into the proper young lady she used to be. Philip Cartwright has been asking about her, and now that she's back home, we'll arrange their marriage."  
  
I drew back from the door in shock. The flame flickered, and my heart skipped a beat, too. Philip Cartwright? I hated the boy. I always had, ever since I'd first met him when I was four years old.  
  
I turned away, needing to get back from the door, and ran into Grandfather.  
  
I hadn't seen him since that day when we'd all danced in the street, and he looked horrible. His eyes were even more so sunken in, his gray hair stood on end. His clothes were rumpled. I wondered why Grandmother hadn't made him change.  
  
He glared at me with his dark, unfeeling eyes. "Leave this place, Victoria," he said, and his voice was bitter. "You've ruined this family enough. We were starting to get our lives back together when you showed up and made an even bigger mess. Just leave. No one wants you here anymore."  
  
I gasped and ran back to my room. I opened a garment bag and threw in as many clothes as I could fit, some books, and some trinkets of mine: a pearl broach, a golden locket on a chain, my tiny diamond-and-pearl earrings I'd gotten just months before for my sweet sixteen birthday. I grabbed all my money from all my hiding places around my room, then tore my house key off from around my neck. I put it on my pillow. I changed into a gray traveling dress with black trim and a black hat, then shoved my nightgown into my bag as well. Then I turned and left the house as quickly as I could. I didn't say goodbye to anyone, but I was certain Grandfather watched me leave.  
  
*  
  
"What're ya doin' here?" The next morning, I woke up to Spot's voice. I tried to open my eyes but they refused for a while. Finally I managed to wipe the sleep from them and looked up at him, as I began stretching out the cramps that had come from sleeping on a stoop.  
  
"I left my house." The statement was simple and at the end I let out a big yawn.  
  
Spot smiled. "Ya came t' live with me?" he said, sounding surprised.  
  
"I guess so," I answered, looking down at my boots. "You did mean what you said, right? That you'd never leave me?"  
  
"A course I did," he answered, taking my hand. "Come on with me, I'll take ya t' the goils' boardin' house."  
  
We walked down the street a bit, until we reached the right place. Spot led the way inside. The lady who ran it, Mrs. Higgins, smiled graciously at me. I paid for a week. Spot took me to the bunk room, and Mrs. Higgins came with us. She was a nice lady, with frizzy brown hair and a slight weight problem, but she held herself well and looked prettier than she probably should have. Still, when I looked at her, I felt a little pang for the clumsy old man I'd gotten to know at the Manhattan boys' boarding house: Kloppman.  
  
"Hey, goils!" said Spot, after Mrs. Higgins had made sure all the girls still in the house were decent and had gone back downstairs. "This heah is Victoria. She'll be livin' heah, at least fer a while. I wants you goils t' take care a her for me."  
  
"Of course, Spot," said a pretty girl. She had long red curly hair to her waist, and big green eyes. Her accent was mostly New York, but there was a touch of Irish in it as well. She, like Mrs. Higgins, was a bit on the big side, but she too pulled it off with grace. "I'm Fire. How are you, Lass?" I nodded and smiled a hello to her. She smiled back and looked back down to her knitting.  
  
"I'm Stormy," said a girl of about thirteen, who had dark blue eyes and a scowl to match her name. She tossed her dark brown, shoulder-length hair from her face in annoyance.  
  
"They call me Clementine," said a girl who looked seventeen or eighteen. She had blonde curls around her face, big light blue eyes, and a perfect smile. "I'se Saga's fiancée."  
  
"You'll be meetin' Saga latah today," said Spot to me.  
  
"An' I'se Judy," said the last girl, who had light brown hair halfway down her back, though the top parts were pulled back in a bun. She had an easy smile and light brown eyes. "I jus' came a few months ago, an' I don' have a newsie name yet." She was about sixteen, too. I liked her the best automatically.  
  
"Wheah's a free bed, goils?" Spot asked.  
  
"Heah, she can take dis one," Judy said, pointing at the one next to her. "Chile jus' moved out yestah-day."  
  
I put my bag on the bed and smiled gratefully at Judy.  
  
"We's bes' be goin'," Spot said suddenly. "I wants t' intra'duce 'er t' da boys."  
  
"It was nice meeting all of you," I said, as Spot led me from the room. "I look forward to getting to know all of you."  
  
As we walked towards the stairs, I heard Stormy say, "Didja heah da way she talked?"  
  
"An' wha' about that outfit?" Clementine agreed. "I sweah, I've neveh seen anythin' so purty in me life!"  
  
"Wha' is she, da bloody Princess a' England?" Stormy wondered. I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing.  
  
I met lots of Spot's Brooklyn friends that day, and grew steadily more and more unhappy. Saga, Clementine's fiancé, was definitely one of the most good-looking in the bunch, with straight dirty blond hair and dark brown eyes. I only made a mental note of him because of his connection to Clementine, and the rest of the guys' names floated in one of my ears and out the next. I began to wish I could see Crutchy with his sweet manners, Racetrack with his jokes, tender Boots, glum Skittery, obnoxiously self- centered Jack, quiet David, impressionable Les, Snipeshooter (even though he always annoyed me), and Kid Blink with his optimism. But most of all, I wished with all my heart I could be with sweet, funny, nice, caring, optimistic, fun, trustworthy Mush. I wanted to take away all the hurt that I'd caused him, and make him feel better. I wanted to kiss him, to have him hold me, and to just plain stop hurting.  
  
But I knew I couldn't go back. He'd made that clear to me, that I'd hurt him beyond repair. That was the only reason I'd come to Brooklyn the night before, and the reason why I knew I'd never go to see Mush again. I'd messed up all of my chances with him. And there was nothing I could do to make it better. 


	17. One For All

AFL Chapter 17  
  
That night, I had a hard time sleeping. The bed in the Brooklyn Girls' Lodging House wasn't as comfortable as those in my house or even at the Manhattan Boys' Lodging House. I was shaken awake by Judy around midnight.  
  
"Victoria? Victoria!" she said. I blinked up at her. She was holding a candle, and the flames flickered across her face. Her eyes were wide and she looked scared. "Wha's wrong? You was cryin' out in yer sleep!"  
  
"Pipe down!" a girl called out. "Some of us's tryin' t' sleep heah!"  
  
I struggled to remember my dream, but couldn't. "I'm sorry I woke you," I said sheepishly. "It must have just been a bad dream."  
  
"Cheese it, Sleepin' Beauty!" called out a voice I recognized as Stormy's.  
  
Judy shrugged at me, then went back to her own bed. She gave me a smile then blew out the candle.  
  
I was tired, but I didn't trust my dreams enough to go back to sleep. I struggled to keep my eyes open as long as I could, and was surprised at how quickly morning actually came. I was still awake when Mrs. Higgins came up. After we all got cleaned up and dressed, we headed downstairs and out the door to get papes.  
  
Spot was already down there with his papes, and he smiled when he saw me. He walked over and put his arm around me. "Ya wants t' help me sell me papes?" he asked.  
  
I raised my chin. "I'd rather sell my own, thanks," I answered, slipping out from under his arm and walking to join the line. He began to laugh and hoot, leaning on his cane until I came back with my papes. I didn't mention the fact that I'd never sold papers on my own before, that I'd always helped Mush. I'd learned a lot from the Manhattan boys. It was time to show Brooklyn just how to sell.  
  
Spot chose a location a little down from mine, and watched me out of the corner of his eye. I rose my chin a little higher and began to yell out my headlines in my clearest and most proper voice. He laughed a little at first, then his eyes widened as I sold more and more. Finally he began to sell his as well, yelling out his own headline. As soon as he'd shout something, I'd yell something even more ludicrous. I was out of papers in no time.  
  
"What?" I asked, feigning surprise. "You're not done yet?"  
  
"Shuddup," he said, his eyes twinkling. "You'se jus' had less t' sell, tha's all." I took half of his remaining papers and quickly sold those too. He just shook his head.  
  
"Well? What are you waiting for?" I asked, hands on my hips. "Sell, Spot, sell!"  
  
He soon did sell his last papers, and then we headed to his favorite place to hang out: his bridge. Some newsies were already swimming in the water, even though it was quickly turning to autumn and the waters couldn't be all that refreshing, I figured. Spot leaned on his cane regally and watched his loyal Brooklyn subjects.  
  
And that was our schedule for the few remaining days of summer, then for the first few weeks of autumn: we'd sell our papers, then hang out with the other newsies. The girls, save Judy, still didn't like me or trust me ("She always yells and screams in 'er sleep," Stormy complained. "Every night. She won' shuddup.") and I didn't get too close to the boys either, but Judy and Spot kept me from getting too lonely. Judy soon got a newsie name, Chestnut, because of the light color of her eyes. I refused any name that they tried to give me, which thoroughly confused them. Eventually Spot called me Vic, and Chestnut called me Tori. Because of this, the others began to call me A, since it was the only part of my name that hadn't been used in a nickname. At first I didn't respond to it, until they called me it so much that it stuck. Then Spot and Chestnut began to call me A too, and I learned to live with it.  
  
"Heya, A," said Spot one day when we were alone (which didn't happen very often). We were walking through the streets of Brooklyn, having sold our papers without any trouble. "Stormy says you'se still screamin' in yer sleep. Why?"  
  
"I don't know," I answered, lowering my eyes. I'd begun to start remembering what my dreams were that made me so anxious in my sleep. They all had Mush in them, though once I was awake I couldn't remember WHAT it was about him. But I couldn't tell Spot that I still thought about Mush. He'd been so kind to me. He'd helped me out when no one else—not even the people I had trusted more than anyone else in the world, the Manhattan newsies—had been willing to.  
  
"Ya do know that I'se always heah fer ya, right?" he asked, looking into my eyes. I made myself smile.  
  
"Of course. You and Chestnut are the only friends I have in the world."  
  
Autumn began to fade into winter. Winter had always been one of my favorite seasons, back when I lived in a house with roaring fires and had friends whose only cares were going riding in horse-drawn carriages with sleigh bells, wrapped in furs and heavy cloaks, maybe even snuggling against one of the boys who would come along. Winter as a newsie was a whole different story. I found myself shivering as I tried to sell my papers, and I got a cold early on. Spot couldn't come visit me (Mrs. Higgins wouldn't allow it) so for that week Chestnut was my sole friend.  
  
The first day I was feeling slightly better, I ventured outside, wrapped in as many layers as I could put on and holding a cup with hot coffee in it that Mrs. Higgins had insisted upon.  
  
"Spot!" giggled a girl. "You make this season wondahful!"  
  
"Ah, no, you do!" he said modestly. I peeked around the corner, following the voices, and watched as Chestnut and Spot kissed. It wasn't a friendly "you're-the-beau-of-my-friend" or "you're-the-friend-of-my-girl" kiss, it was a full out kiss. I stared for a moment. The cup slipped from my hands, and shattered on the sidewalk, spraying scalding liquid everywhere.  
  
Chestnut and Spot looked over, and both wore guilty and scared expressions. "A! Wait!" shouted Chestnut, as I scrambled back into the Lodging House. Mrs. Higgins looked at me in confusion as I pounded up the stairs. Chestnut followed me and found me throwing all my clothes into my garment bag.  
  
"What are you doin'?" she gasped, short of breath. "I swear, A, it wasn' what it looked like at all…"  
  
"Oh, so you and Spot WEREN'T kissing?" I asked coldly, throwing my Shakespeare books in my pack.  
  
"Okay, so maybe it was EXACTLY what it looked like. But it didn' mean anithing, I swear!"  
  
"How many times did you kiss him before?" I asked, staring at her.  
  
"On'y twice befoah," she mumbled.  
  
"Twice?!" I screeched, throwing the last of my belongings into the sack and starting to buckle it up.  
  
"Ya don' understan'! He missed ya, an'… I guess I jus' wan'ed t' know wha' it was like t' kiss da leadah a Brooklyn," she said, swinging one of her feet. She looked up at me, her expression cloudy. "I'se sorry. Please don' leave, A. Ya don' have nowhere's else t' go!"  
  
"Yeah, well nowhere is a heck of a lot better than here," I answered, shaking her off and going back down the stairs.  
  
"A! Whatcha doin'?" Spot asked.  
  
"Leaving you. I thought you said you'd never hurt me," I told him, feeling tears brimming. Another guy I'd thought I could trust. I willed the tears to stay where they were, because I didn't need icicles draped off my face.  
  
"Don' go!" he pleaded. He followed me, begging the whole way, as I walked over the bridge to Manhattan. My eyes widened at the streets. I'd missed this place, I was astounded to find. I also felt incredibly at home here.  
  
Spot eventually turned around and went back to Brooklyn, shouting that the leader of Brooklyn didn't need to beg for anybody. I felt a weird sense of accomplishment as he left. Then I sighed. I didn't want to go to the girls' lodging house, because I'd never grown close to the girls, and I was sure they'd all hate me, because I knew they would've heard about my "betrayal" of Mush from the boys.  
  
I found an alley that at least partially hid me from the snow that had started to fall, and curled up, holding my knees to my face to block the snow. I wondered how long it would take someone to find me if I froze to death. And if it was of the Manhattan newsies, would they even care?  
  
"Hey! Over heah!" someone called jokingly some time later, as the sky took on shades of deep blue-violet. I peeked over my knees and saw someone bounding through the alley. "Wheah'd that cat go?" It was Snipeshooter.  
  
"Le's go back t' da Lodging House, Snipe!" said another voice. Boots.  
  
"Yeah, it's freezin'!" Jack.  
  
"Leave da poor cat alone!" hollered Crutchy.  
  
"Ah, okay," said Snipeshooter. He turned to leave, then saw me. "Whoa! Fellas, dere's someone in heah!"  
  
"Who is it? Is it a bum? Careful, Snipe!" Boots said.  
  
Jack came over to me. I shivered, my teeth chattering. He looked closer at me. "Daffodil?" he asked incredulously.  
  
It had been so long since I'd heard that as my name, I burst into tears.  
  
"Gawd! She's half-frozen! C'mon, boys, le's get 'er outta heah!" Jack shouted. He tried to help me to my feet but I fainted. 


	18. And All For One

AFL Chapter 18  
  
I didn't wake up until much later, but from what I heard from the boys, Jack carried me back to the Lodging House. Since Kloppman knew me and all, he allowed them to take me up to the bunk room.  
  
When I finally stirred, I found Mush smiling down at me. "I'm sorry, Mush," I said, trying to muster strength to talk to him, even though it hurt my raw throat. "I didn't mean—"  
  
"Shhh," Mush said, looking down at me. I was relieved that he wasn't filled with hatred anymore. "It's okay now. You's home. We's gonna take real good care a ya." All I could do was smile weakly up at him. He leaned down and kissed my cheek. "I missed ya, Daffodil." He took my hand and, feeling comfortable for the first time in months, I burrowed down in his bed that smelled so wonderfully of him and, holding his hand to my heart, fell fast asleep.  
  
When I awoke again, it was late in the next day. Kloppman was the only one around, because all the boys had gone to sell the afternoon papes. "I practically had to throw Mush out," the old man chuckled as he forced me to eat some food.  
  
There were loud footsteps on the stairs of someone running, and Mush burst in. "Is she awake?" he asked, then grinned happily when he saw me sitting up and eating.  
  
"Now, don't go making her all excited," said Kloppman. "She had a nasty cold when she set out, and sitting in the snow didn't help her any." (I had told him about the cold, but had downplayed it; he had arrived at the "nasty" adjective all by himself) Kloppman brought a spoonful of hot broth to my lips, but with his age the spoon wavered and some drops escaped onto the sheet.  
  
"Heah, Kloppman!" cried Mush, racing over. He took the spoon. "I'll feed 'er!"  
  
"Well, I do have some bookkeeping to do…" Kloppman mumbled, then left the room and went downstairs. Mush took his chair and began to feed me.  
  
"I'se bin real messed up since I left ya, Daffodil," he confessed quietly. "I'se even wen' t' yer house t' apologize, but yer mom said she didn' have no daughtah, only 'er baby son. She gave me dis meaningful look as she said it, and she was holdin' da baby. I didn' know wheah ya wen' to."  
  
"Mother had a son?" I asked, smiling. "I wonder what his name is…" Mush shut me up by forcing more broth down my throat.  
  
"I was gonna check Brooklyn, but I didn' wanna have all my feahs confoimed, so I didn'. Is dat wheah ya were?" he asked. I checked his expression. It was tender and sweet and caring as he brushed back a piece of my long, messy hair.  
  
"Yes," I answered quietly. "Not because I really wanted to, but because I didn't know where else I could go. I had made YOU mad beyond forgiveness, I thought, and I couldn't stay at my house because Father wanted to marry me off to Philip and Grandfather told me to leave. Spot said he'd never hurt me, never leave me, ever. I figured he was my only friend. So I went to Brooklyn."  
  
Mush put the spoon back in the bowl of broth on the bedside table and then leaned over and gave me a huge hug. "I'se so glad you'se back, Daffodil," he said. "I'se been cryin' out in me sleep an' annoyin' all da boys t' death!"  
  
"I did that, too," I admitted. "I wasn't very popular over there." He pulled away out of the hug and gave me a huge grin. Then I asked for something I'd been aching after for months: "Mush, will you kiss me?"  
  
His grin grew even wider, if that was possible, and he leaned down to me. It was even better than I'd remembered. Everything that had gone wrong between us disappeared, as we kissed and kissed and kissed. He climbed onto the bed with me so it was more comfortable for him and put his strong arms around me, and I kissed him back as hard as I could.  
  
"Whoa!" cried someone's voice. "Jus' gettin' me hat… don' mind me…"  
  
"Shuddup, Cowboy," said Mush with a laugh. He began to kiss me again. I happily complied with his lips.  
  
"Jus' don' let Kloppman catch ya," Jack warned, backing out of the room. "He t'inks you'se feedin' 'er!" He scratched his head. "Well, maybe in a way, ya are." I could practically see the wicked grin on his face, even though I wasn't really listening to him; I was more in tune with Mush at the moment.  
  
"KLOPPMAN!" Jack screamed. "COME SEE WHAT THEY'SE DOIN'!"  
  
"I'se gonna kill ya, Jackie Boy!" shouted Mush gleefully, jumping off the bed and chasing Jack down the stairs. I shook my head. Boys. Then I began to feed myself some more broth.  
  
*  
  
That night, it was just like any other night I'd ever spent at the Manhattan Boys' Lodging House. Racetrack, Snipeshooter, Skittery and Jack played cards, Mush and I sat talking, and the other boys either slept (that was Bumlets, who was apparently exhausted enough to sleep through all the noise) or played little games among themselves or practiced sword-fighting. All of them had brought me daffodils, too. Mush had (once again) given money to Jack and had three of the flowers for me. I nearly cried at the sweetness of it; in fact, I did cry. I had missed all of these boys so much.  
  
Mush gave up his bed for me that night again, and he kissed me goodnight before Kloppman came up. "G'night, Daffodil. I love you." The statement was so simple yet so sweet that it made me smile.  
  
"I love you, too." I pulled his sheet up and smiled to myself. Mush had been right earlier: I WAS home now. This was where I belonged. The only place in the whole world for me.  
  
Halfway through the night, Mush climbed into the bed. "Shhh," he whispered as I woke with a start. "I'll make shore dat I'm back on da floor before Kloppman comes up in da morning." He laced his arms around me and gave me another kiss.  
  
Falling asleep in his arms was wonderful. I had never, ever felt more safe. Mush was my security. I thought of all the experiences I'd had since I'd met Mush. Sneaking out of my house at all hours of the night to meet him… running away… selling papes… dancing in the streets… Mush's birthday… the fire… going back home… going to Brooklyn… believing Mush didn't love me… Spot and Chestnut kissing… running to Manhattan… being reunited with Mush. My life had been a see-saw: up, then down, then up again. I opened my eyes. Mush was already asleep. The moonlight from the window played upon his face, showcasing his closed eyes and smile. I wondered if he was dreaming about me. I knew it really didn't matter, because he was mine, and I wouldn't let him go again.  
  
What a fine life we had, carrying the banner. A mighty fine life.  
  
**The End**  
  
**Disclaimer: Disney owns all of the newsies in the above story, except Victoria (Daffodil, A), Snap (hmmm, he just seemed to disappear… I forgot about him… whoops, maybe he'll come back if I write a sequel), Fire, Stormy, Clementine, Saga, Chestnut (Judy), and Chile. They also own Kloppman, Snyder and Pulitzer. I, however, own the aforementioned listed newsies, as well as Mother, Father, Grandmother, Grandfather, Pierre, Rose, Bonnie, and Joseph. And the gardener, I forget his name as he had no major part. But yeah, he's mine too. So there. :P LOL. So now, clicky on that little button and tell me how you like the ending. Do you want a sequel? Should I make a series? Let me know. Thanks.  
  
Copyright © Mondie 2002 


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